FilerFrog is a neat Windows utility that adds a bunch of useful file handling tools to your context (right-click) menu, handling tasks like moving files and image resizing. As it only adds one top-level item, it won’t clutter your context menu, but all the tools are just a couple of clicks away. FilerFrog used to be a commercial product, but it’s now available for free.

Here’s a rundown of the things that FilerFrog can do:

• Extract from folder: Move a folder’s contents to its parent folder
• Extract to folder: Move any number of files or folders to a new folder.
• Copy/move: Copy and move files and folders without hunting through My Computer looking for the same often-used destination folder.
• Delete empty files or folders: Search for and delete empty files and folders.
• Copy path to clipboard: Copies the current path to the clipboard.
• Invert selection: Files that were selected are unselected, and the others are selected.
• Split and join: Split a large file of any type into smaller pieces.
• List of files: Makes a text or HTML listing of the files and folders selected.
• Encrypt/decrypt: Encrypts and decrypts files using, RC4 stream cipher encryption.
• Resize image: Resizes images.
• Put logo on image: Places a logo or other graphic on an image.
• Image album: Creates and album of images.
• Sort desktop: Arrange your desktop icons and forms them into groups.

FilerFrog is a free download, with versions available for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows machines.

Let us know what you think of FilerFrog in the comments.

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Enabling the Web Work Revolution

(via Ghacks)

Most of us are probably an expert in something, and we naturally get questions from people who want to learn more about our area of expertise. It is relatively easy to just jot down a few paragraphs, grab a couple of links and send off that email to the person asking the question. But think about how many times you’ve answered a similar question over the past month or the past year. Those 15 minutes chunks start to add up really quickly when you multiply them out across dozens of requests. That’s where reducing, reusing and recycling your work can have huge productivity benefits over time.

Today, for example, I met with someone who is moving into her first community manager position. After the meeting, I sent what looked like a pretty impressive list of 17 links to relevant information, but it took me less than five minutes to compile what she needed because I had most of it available in canned responses and other online documentation. Being prepared and ready with common answers allows you to be extremely responsive with details and comprehensive answers to questions without spending much time on them at all. Here are a few of the things that I do to reduce, reuse and recycle my work.

Online Documentation

Don’t underestimate the power of online documentation. These frequently asked questions are a great way to come up with ideas for blog posts or other documentation that you can reuse over and over. I use my personal blog to publish most of my community management posts, and I have a “getting started” page where I’ve collected the posts that provide a good introduction to community management. A wiki is another good option for reusable documentation when you are working as part of a project, team or online community. The community that I manage has a wiki where we collaborate on FAQs, guidelines, technical documentation and many other documents. When I start to see questions coming up in the community on a common topic, it is often a sign that something isn’t well documented.

After your core set of documentation is established, many individual questions can be answered by sending a link or two. Whether you use a blog, wiki, collaboration tool or website, spending a few minutes writing online documentation now can save hours later when you reuse it again and again.

Collections

Once you have a good set of online documentation, you can start organizing it into collections and FAQ documents. I mentioned that I have a “starting point” page on my blog that simply links to collections of documentation, organized by topic. I also do this in the online community with FAQ documents and pages that organize information to make it easier for people to find. In many cases this lets me send people a single link or a couple of links that provide them with a whole collection of information on a particular topic. As I add new content, I go back occasionally to these collections and add additional information or links to some newer documentation on the topic.

Canned Responses

When someone emails you with a question and you take the time to put together a complete, thoughtful answer, you should store it as a canned response ready for the next person who asks a similar question. I often use the canned response functionality in Gmail to do this, and your email client might have something similar available, but if not, you can always store snippets of emails for reuse in a text file or your favorite note-taking application. Now, I’m not saying that you should just blast these out to people as-is. I usually take the time to personalize them and add a little more information that is especially relevant to their situation. Each time I use one of these canned responses, I also take the time to see if it needs to be updated with some new information or additional links and then I save those changes for the next time I need to use it.

Most of my canned responses are actually collections of links to online documentation, so three ideas aren’t separate as much as they build on each other. You could also use the same techniques within a corporate environment with private collaboration tools inside your firewall. Whether the information is public or private, having great online documentation formed into collections and used as canned responses to inquiries is a great way to reduce, recycle and reuse your work.

What are your tips for reusing work?

Photo by Flickr user Nick Bramhall used under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Enabling the Web Work Revolution

Kohive is a web app that provides shared collaborative workspaces for teams. In use, the app looks very much like a computer desktop — down the left-hand side of the screen is a series of icons that provides access to different “apps,” while each workspace (called a “Hive” by the app) is accessed via a tabbed interface at the bottom of the screen.

Out of the box, Kohive makes a number of different “apps” available for collaborative tasks:

• Overview: Provides a list of recent activity on the Hive.
• Messages: Allows users to send messages to individuals and groups
• Bookmarks: A bookmarking facility, including tagging.
• Stickies: Online sticky notes.
• Tasks: A fairly powerful task management tool, with tags, assignments, due dates, milestone and file links.
• Notepad: Online notes, with tagging.
• Status updates: A microblogging tool, which can be linked to Twitter.
• File cabinet: A place to store files.
• Gallery: A photo gallery. You can upload images, or get them from URLs or Flickr.
• Videos: A video gallery that’s somewhat limited in that you can’t upload videos — they must be hosted elsewhere.
• Doodle: Online drawing tool.
• Chat room: An IRC-style chat room.

Continuing the desktop metaphor, each app opens in its own window that can be dragged around the desktop and resized as required. Content is updated in real-time, so users can see changes from other team members instantly.

The Kohive interface looks very slick and its functionality is impressive for a web app. However, while I like the idea of a comprehensive online space that can be used as a repository and workspace for everything related to a project, it’s not particularly snappy. On my machine, page elements take a while to load, and submissions were slow, which would probably make for a frustrating experience if it were to be used for a real project.

Kohive is currently in beta, so hopefully the performance issues will be addressed, and is free.

Let us know what you think of Kohive in the comments.

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub req’d): HTML5’s a Game-Changer for Web Apps

(via Lifehacker)

Successful coworking communities have always been diverse at their core; their ability to bring together tech professionals from various disciplines into a shared environment is part of the value of being a member of a coworking space.

As the first generation of coworking spaces begins to reach maturity, it’s gratifying to see this innovative model of working now permeating beyond the technology sector into other industries. Indeed, niche coworking communities are now emerging to serve particular disciplines outside tech.

Tech investor Fred Wilson recently highlighted In Good Company and Green Spaces – providing coworking services for female and green entrepreneurs, respectively — in a wide ranging post about coworking spacess in New York. Along with The Writers Junction in LA, which is tailored towards writers, it seems that these flexible work spaces are increasingly attractive to a broader demographic.

Green Spaces

Currently operating in New York and Denver, Green Spaces is seeking to provide local incubators for environmental and sustainability entrepreneurs. Monthly plans range from $50/month to $495/month, covering everything from a hotdesking to a permanent desk, with drop-in access available from $20/day. The residents are certainly a diverse bunch with everything from concierge service providers and magazine publishers to activist organizations and green realtors. Green Spaces seems to be much more eclectic than simply being “green”;  it’s actually a hub for progressive people and projects.

In Good Company

Also based in New York, In Good Company is focused on supporting women entrepreneurs through a combination of events, office space and a program of training activities; coworking is just one of a number of its offerings.

The Writers Junction

Based in Los Angeles, The Writers Junction, as the name suggests, is a haven for writers of all persuasions. The membership plans offer full- and part-time usage from as low as $89/month up to $140/month. Residents include journalists, screenwriters, directors, doctoral students and actors.

There’s a great two-minute video, with commentary from community members, that underlines the warmth of what appears to be a modern-day artists’ commune.

Bringing Together Communities

Each of these coworking spaces appears to be successfully nurturing and serving the needs of communities that may have lacked a focal point or hub prior to having a physical home. I’ve heard rumors of a nearby town here in the U.K. that’s toying with the notion of a coworking space for physical fitness professionals — bringing together gym coaches, dieticians, physiotherapists and “wellbeing” professionals, among other healthcare disciplines. Could we be seeing a reboot for many industries that had previously remained ensconced in disconnected silos?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub req’d): By The Numbers: Running a Coworking Space

Photo by Flickr user Hyku, licensed under CC 2.0

Courier is a Mac app that allows you to quickly and easily upload files (documents, images and videos) to a variety of online services. It uses mail as a metaphor; to upload your files, you put them into a virtual envelope and put “stamps” onto the envelope: square logo images that tell the app which services you’d like to send the file to.

It’s easy to set up; when you first drag a stamp onto an envelope, the app asks you to authenticate your account. Each time you put a stamp on your envelope, a dialog pops up with specific options for that service. For example, you’ll be asked whether you want the files uploaded to a Group or Photoset on Flickr, and whether you want to set any privacy controls. You add files to the envelope by dragging and dropping them.

Clicking “Deliver” uploads the contents of your envelope to the services that you’ve selected. Progress is displayed on a cute  map, showing the files moving from your location to their destination.

Out of the box, Courier works with Flickr, Facebook, Vimeo, YouTube, Amazon S3, Ember and FTP/SFTP. You can also download third-party plugins to enable other services to work with the app; plugins for CloudApp and TwitPic are currently available.

Courier costs $19.95. A free trial is available that allows up to five deliveries.

Let us know what you think of Courier in the comments.

(via One Thing Well)

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Report: The Real-Time Enterprise

When Windows 7 launched last year, Microsoft offered a discounted Windows 7 “Family Pack.” It was a boxed package that contained the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade for both 32- and 64-bit systems and a product key that could be used on up to three machines; at $150, it was a pretty good deal for families — and web workers with more than one machine to upgrade. Unfortunately, the Family Pack was only available in limited quantities, and was sold out in the U.S by December.

The good news is that, in time for Windows 7′s first anniversary on October 3rd, Microsoft is bringing back the Family Pack. It’s the same deal as before — three upgrade licenses for $150, although you’ll probably be able to find it a bit cheaper online. If you haven’t already upgraded your machines to Windows 7, it’s definitely worth considering as, once again, it’s only available “while stocks last.” The Family Pack will also be sold in Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Australia and “many other markets” on or after October 22nd to mark Windows 7′s first anniversary in those territories.

Have you upgraded to Windows 7 yet?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Enabling the Web Work Revolution

Some people use their email for everything — storing files, emailing notes to themselves, etc. If you fit that description, you should check out Notes for Later. It’s a simple free service that’s useful for keeping making notes of websites to remember at a later date. Sign up, and the site generates a custom bookmarklet that, when clicked, sends an email to your inbox containing the current web page’s URL, the time and date and any text that you’ve highlighted on the page.

Of course, there are plenty of other, more powerful services that are probably more suited to this kind of task already: bookmarking tools like Delicious and note-taking tools like Evernote, for example. However, for the person who spends most of their time in their inbox, Notes for Later is simple and extremely quick to use: Just highlight your text (if required) and click the button. Then when you need to find a note, it’s just a question of searching your inbox.

Each note is stored in a separate email with the URL of the page saved as its subject line; if you’re going to be using the tool extensively, I’d recommend creating a new folder and a filter or inbox rule to keep the Notes for Later emails out of your main inbox. It should also be possible to use the tool for collaborative note-taking — if a team was doing research, for example, they could all send notes to a central email address.

What do you think of Notes for Later?

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Email: The Reports of My Death are Greatly Exaggerated

Are you the type of person who often clicks on the headlines of articles in your RSS reader to take you through to the article on its website? If so, you might like to try prldr, a new web-based “visual RSS reader” that displays the articles just as they appear in it original layout, complete with comments, adverts and so on.

After setting up an account — a matter of providing an email address and password — you’re presented with a simple split screen: your feeds on the left, and on the right a much larger iframe containing the currently selected article. As you might expect of something that was just a weekend project for its developer, Jaap van der Meer, it’s fairly basic, although it does have some nice touches, like color-coding feeds to help you see where each headline came from. Each article is preloaded (hence the name “prldr”) so flipping between articles using the “previous” and “next” buttons feels pretty snappy, and as you get the full article content it’s especially useful for sites that only publish excerpts in their feeds. Prldr can import your feeds via an OPML file, but it can’t sync with other news readers.

Personally, I think I’ll stick with Google Reader and its more powerful features, but if you prefer viewing articles in their original layout, it’s definitely worth checking out. You can try prldr’s demo here, and sign up here. It’s free.

Let us know what you think of prldr below.

Related GigaOM Pro content (sub. req.): Report: The Real-Time Enterprise

(Via ReadWriteWeb)

You may have already experienced social media meltdown: a rapid derailment of your previously neat and tidy social media marketing efforts. Because social media cannot be “controlled,” the very thought of putting marketing messages out into the social web strikes fear in the hearts of many. Without control, how do you avert or manage a crisis that bubbles over and could explode on Twitter, Facebook and the like?

I’ve blogged about social media crisis communications previously; the very first step in social media crisis management is to be prepared. In addition to a good social media marketing plan you also need a strong crisis communications plan that incorporates  monitoring and application. Here are six things to consider before you encounter a seemingly out-of-control situation in your social media channels.

1. Contemplate worst cases. Part of your social media crisis communications plan should include playing out scenarios. What are the worst things that could happen if things spun out of control in social media? People would be angry? You’d lose customers? Your brand would be damaged? You’d lose consumer trust? Address each of these issues now and how work to solve these problems.
2. Monitor overtime. Have you noted an a few more dissatisfied customers blogging, tweeting and commenting than usual? Did something happen recently that could qualify as “an incident” that someone got on tape and uploaded onto social media channels? You should have in your plan a monitoring strategy that can be ramped up to 24 hours a day and a communications process to text or call key strategists and spokespeople if something must be addressed immediately.
3. Don’t panic. If you see trouble brewing, don’t let your emotions get the better of you and lead you to acting in a non-strategic fashion. Don’t grasp at straws, don’t respond in a knee-jerk fashion to the tense online conversations, and don’t lose your cool. If you feel anxious about what you’re reading and seeing in your social media channels — particularly if it starts looking like complete anarchy — go back to your plan for grounding.
4. Respond strategically. You have to be agile in a crisis communications situation and often push yourselves past your comfort zone to defuse the situation. Your plan is a good focal point for your communications efforts when things go awry, but you also need to observe any new dynamics that are occurring that you may not have anticipated. Be strategic about any responses you put out there. Most individual questions from a crowd that is demanding answers do not need to be addressed individually. Instead you could compile them into a FAQ to cover broader ground and keep things neutral and even-toned. You will have to make decisions on the fly but keep your strategy in mind.
5. Sit it out. As Kenny Rogers said, “You have to know when to hold ‘em.” Sometimes your voice inserted into the negative social media conversations will have the affect of gasoline on a fire. Not everyone wants to hear you defending yourself or your company. Not everyone needs to hear the desperation — or frustration — in your voice by the words you choose in heated moments. Just wait. If you’ve done a good job of building trust in your social media-hosted communities, your community could actually begin policing itself. Your supporters may respond to the naysayers in positive ways, helping to defuse the situation before you even have to get involved. Some things do work themselves out, but knowing how much to get involved — and what to say when you do — takes experience and finesse.
6. Be respectful. No matter what you end up saying to your social media-based audiences, always take the high road, never say more than you need to, and make sure every sentence you put out there is even-toned and highly respectful of others. Sometimes people just want to hear themselves vent. Other times, people just want to jump on the bandwagon of the frenzy. If someone has a legitimate gripe, quickly and appropriately responding while respecting other people’s feelings is the best approach. Not sure how to start? Why not start with “I understand and respect your feelings in this matter. I hear what you’re saying.” Now calmly provide information that addresses the issue.

How prepared are you for a social media communications crisis?

stock xchng image by user LittleMan