OK, really, it won’t cost you a dime…only you’re time.  If you’re a solopreneur, freelancer or other small business owner, you may find it challenging to collect feedback from clients and prospects.  Even more than collecting it, you are frustrated when it comes to organizing and accessing it in a way that you are actually able to use the information. You can also use this method as a replacement to the old email spreadsheet, copy & paste method of gathering information from coworkers.  And, as I write this post, my husband called to ask “We want to create a course evaluation survey- what’s the best survey service to use?” My answer: “Google Forms.”  It’ll do that, too.

There are quite a few paid survey services available like Survey Monkey, Online Survey from Constant Contact and Zoomerang, some of which even provide limited free access. I’ve used several of them and keep coming back to Google Forms. The paid survey services are pricey if running surveys isn’t your primary business and the data analysis process can be unnecessarily cumbersome and limiting.

Assuming you have a Google account, you are just a few steps away from a finished survey. First, go to the ‘Create New’ button in Google Docs and select the ‘Form’ option.

Begin by entering the ‘Question Title’ (i.e. question), any help text and selecting the desired ‘Question Type’, as follows:

• Text- allows your user to enter free-text in short form. While the ‘Text’ option doesn’t limit entry, it does limit the response viewing space
• Paragraph Text- choose this option for comments and long text responses
• Multiple Choice- displays all options defined by you, user selects one via radio button
• Choose from a list- displays drop-down box of a list defined by you, user selects one item
• Checkboxes- choose this option to allow for more than one selection from a list you define
• Scale- allows users to rate on a scale from 0 up to 10, you have the ability to choose the numbers (i.e. 0-10, 1-5, etc.) and the labels for the scale
• Grid- useful for rating multiple items on a scale up to 5 (in a row & column format) without the need to create an individual question for each.

Quick Tip: When typing the ‘Question Title’ you may also want to preface it with a number (eg. 1., 2., etc.) If you’ll be re-ordering your questions you may find it easier to add the number when you’re done.  Question numbering appears to be one of the only basic features Google overlooked, in my opinion.

Some additional features include the ability to:

• Make a question required
• Easily reorder questions by clicking and dragging
• Add section headers or page breaks
• Send user to a specific page based on the answer (multiple choice only)
• Select one of the 71 themes (I prefer ‘Clean & Simple’)
• Edit the survey confirmation message

Now you are ready to send your survey out- almost!  I highly recommend testing the survey and sending to a few friends for feedback first.  Then, you’re ready to email the survey link, embed it on your website, or share it on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, etc.

Finally, sit back and wait for the responses to come in…Whether sent in bulk or to just one, over a week or months, one-time or ongoing, responses are collected on your behalf into a spreadsheet.  I LOVE this part!! (yes, I’m flying my geek flag) You can sort, filter and analyze the data.  If you want to see the age of all survey respondents who live in a specific city, simply filter your spreadsheet by ‘city’ (assuming you include these questions in your survey). You are only limited by your spreadsheet skills…or lack thereof.  This is where Google Forms excels- no pun intended- really! And you can’t beat the price.

What do you plan to create a survey for? Please share in the comments.

Who: Arc 90- Readability
What: Removes clutter and makes reading on the web easier on your eyes
Where: http://lab.arc90.com/experiments/readability/
How Much: Free
Why: Readability allows you to choose the style, font size and margin to format a desired web page using a simple browser bookmark toolbar.

Feel free to share a comment about what you love (or don’t) about Readability…

Yesterday, Rich Brooks published a blog post on How To Add Photos And Videos To Your Tweets.  It’s a great post with some really *simple* ways to share video or images that exist somewhere on the web or your computer.

A while back, I shared a video and screen capture service called Jing- check out the post here.  Today, I received an update from Jing on their brand new feature that allows you to send output directly to Twitter.

So, if you’re looking to share video or images that already exist on the web, then definitely check out the Flyte Blog here and if you’d like to share video or screenshots right from the point of creation, Jing is a no-brainer.

Here’s a quick video (36 seconds) showing how easy it is to share your Jing videos and images on Twitter.

Do you have a way to share videos or images through twitter that you’d like to share? Please leave a comment.

I hear from people all the time about how they want to use technology to be more organized. You want to know which software to use to track day-to-day life through email, calendar, contacts, tasks and notes…among others, but these are the top 5. You’ve tried and tossed in the towel because it’s just too cumbersome… and sometimes you keep trying and before you know it you’re spending so much time trying to create the system you forgot the purpose of creating it in the first place. You want a system rooted in technology but keep reverting back to paper.

Here are the three keys to creating a system that works. My three-pronged approach may seem quite obvious on the surface. However, when I work with clients who are struggling with their system they’re always missing one of these key components.  The ideal digital organization system requires software solutions for your desktop, the internet, and a mobile device.

Desktop software on a laptop or desktop computer will allow you to store, retrieve and work with information quickly (generally speaking, netbooks don’t currently provide enough processing power) and without access to the internet.

Recommended Solution: Microsoft Outlook (yes, currently only for PC users but Microsoft is releasing MS Outlook 2010 for the Mac) or Apple Mail for Mac; Evernote Desktop for Notes

Internet solutions or Software as a service (SaaS) will allow you to access your information if you don’t have access to your desktop in an emergency or if you are a frequent traveler.

Recommended Solution: Google Apps including Gmail (I recommend using IMAP to send and receive email), Calendar and Contacts; Google Sync for synchronization with Outlook; ToodleDo for tasks plus ToodleDo Sync to sync with Outlook or iCal subscription for the Mac; Evernote for Notes

A mobile device is the third prong and often where most systems fall apart.  The ideal handheld mobile device will allow you to quickly and easily capture information. If you’re serious about using technology to keep you organized it’s necessary to invest in a tool that you WILL use to enter information into when you are away from your computer. If you aren’t disciplined enough or hate your device, you simply won’t do it and your system will fall apart.

Recommended Solution: iPhone or iPodTouch using native functionality to sync email, contacts and calendar with Google; ToodleDo App for tasks; Evernote App for Notes. Please Note: The iPodTouch will not allow you full time connectivity, however, it provides the ability for you to enter information when you are on the go.

Finally, if you aren’t willing or are unable to implement this 3-pronged approach, I recommend establishing a hybrid paper/digital information organization system, which can work but requires some discipline…and that’s a topic for another day.  As I always say, if your system is working for you then don’t change it. But most likely you’re reading this because you have some questions about how to use technology to manage your day-to-day information. I invite you to ask your questions in the comments section.

When a friend or colleague emails you a link to an article or website, you routinely move it to your ‘To Read’ folder for reading later (yeah, right!)  Alternatively, you may use bookmarking services like Delicious or Xmarks to save your web reading or maybe you simply leave pages open in your web browser to come back to later.   If you truly want to be more productive with email AND you really do want to read something later, try a different approach for your online reading activities.

Originally, I began using ReadItLaterList and switched over to Instapaper when Google Reader added it to their list of ‘Send To’ options.  InstaPaper is a “simple tool to save web pages for reading later.” It allows you to continue what you’re currently working on but move your reading to another location for addressing at the right time.  I now use it to mark web content and feeds that I may want to blog about, research further, or simply spend more time on.  Plus, they’ve got a neat little ‘bookmarklet’ button that makes it easy to do from whichever web browser I’m using.

And, InstaPaper has been in development overdrive- they provide the option of reading articles without the ad & visual clutter, integration with Google Reader, a version for your Kindle and my favorite, an iPhone/iPodTouch app.  In a future post, I’ll talk more about how this helps you to be on time for appointments.

One final word of advice: If you simply set aside reading to occur ‘later’, it will pile up no matter which tool you’re using.  Scheduling time to read is imperative.  Here’s my criteria for weeding reading:

If it’s important enough to save to read later, it’s important enough to schedule the time for.  If you aren’t making the time, then perhaps it’s just not important.

Are you an InstaPaper fan? Or is there another tool/method you’re using successfully to manage your online reading?