15 April 2012

Online post-its

Although I’m not a believer in technology just for the sake of it, I am always on the lookout for anything that will help make my life just that little bit easier.

Anyone who has attended one of my writing skills courses will know that I suggest a number of ways of ‘getting started’, of planning that document to make sure it achieves just what you intended. I’m also a fan of post-it notes... the ability to put something in place but then move it around without any difficulty and ‘fix’ it somewhere new really helps me when grouping and ordering information. I was recently introduced to an online equivalent.

Lino It is very easy to use, and helps me to visualise my document very, very quickly. I’ve only been using it for a relatively short time, but can already see the potential. You can keep your posts private, share them with a select group, or make them publically available. You can rearrange, overlap, edit and remove post-its at will. You can ‘pin’ other items to your board (photos, plans, screenshots) and even – and I think this one has real potential! – upload an image to use as a background. I will play some more and come back to you, but I have a mental vision of a mind-map background overlaid with post-its. Wonderfully creative!