A feature I would LOVE to have -- Evernote "social graph"

[mikotian 1]

First, let me say that I have a poor memory about people's names, faces, and other biographical facts, so I would benefit A LOT from this feature. But honestly, I think this is a genuinely unaddressed need in the market.

 

 

What I want is a system in Evernote for me to keep notes about people. Ideally, I want to construct a sort of "social graph", with me in the center. This graph would include different categories -- acquaintances, friends, co-workers, former co-workers, clients, etc.

 

For example: I am 29 yrs old and a lot of my co-workers, former co-workers, and acquaintances are at the age where they are getting married and having kids. I have a really hard time keeping track of these happenings.These are not my closest friends and I don't associate with them every day. But in a conversation, it's important (both professionally and socially) to be in the loop so to speak.

 

It would be great for me to have a little note in Evernote that might be something like this:

 

John Doe

-- Married to Jane Doe

-- Billy (born in 2007), likes soccer

-- Joan (born in 2011) (birthday 12/11/2011)

John is a huge basketball fan. Graduated from XXX. Hates Obama, loves guns. Trying to get Billy into XYZ school.

 

And if necessary, Jane Doe and the kids could have their own little note cards and these would be linked in some fashion.

 

 

Or, if I'm sitting down with a client at dinner, it would be very helpful if I could have a note to give me a refresher beforehand.

Obviously I know the client's relationship with me, and I might know a good deal about his business... but social details I can't keep track of well.

 

Client name: Bill Smith

Married to Jane Smith for 3 years -- trophy wife.

3 Kids, 2 grown, 1 in high school. 2 boys, 1 girl.

Divorced from Linda (very acrimonious, don't mention at all costs)

Allergic to fish. Loves steaks.

Originally from Canada, big hockey fan. Likes to travel. Was just in Bermuda.

Building a house in Orange County.

 

 

 

Notice that a lot of these are personal notes. I would NEVER want this kind of stuff in other services like Salesforce.com or indeed any source where other people could access them.

 

So what I want is some sort of data architecture where I can essentially construct a web of people's information around myself. Have that be easily accessible, searchable, and navigable. With certain biographical details automatically updating (for example, people's ages. Or if I move jobs, all the people previously tagged as "co-workers" be retagged "former Co-workers".

 

Yes, I could access some of this information by logging onto LinkedIn or Facebook, etc, but the information on those sites are not generally what I'm after and it's a not efficient way to get it.

Instead, what I want is to know immediately the person's relationship to ME, as well as details that are pertinent to ME, in the context of how I interact with that person. In a professional context, if I'm meeting that person, I might have like 3 minutes to get up to speed. So very fast and pertinent access to detail is crucial.

 

 

 

[BurgersNFries 2,407]

First, let me say that I have a poor memory about people's names, faces, and other biographical facts, so I would benefit A LOT from this feature. But honestly, I think this is a genuinely unaddressed need in the market.

 

 

What I want is a system in Evernote for me to keep notes about people. Ideally, I want to construct a sort of "social graph", with me in the center. This graph would include different categories -- acquaintances, friends, co-workers, former co-workers, clients, etc.

 

For example: I am 29 yrs old and a lot of my co-workers, former co-workers, and acquaintances are at the age where they are getting married and having kids. I have a really hard time keeping track of these happenings.These are not my closest friends and I don't associate with them every day. But in a conversation, it's important (both professionally and socially) to be in the loop so to speak.

 

It would be great for me to have a little note in Evernote that might be something like this:

 

John Doe

-- Married to Jane Doe

-- Billy (born in 2007), likes soccer

-- Joan (born in 2011) (birthday 12/11/2011)

John is a huge basketball fan. Graduated from XXX. Hates Obama, loves guns. Trying to get Billy into XYZ school.

 

And if necessary, Jane Doe and the kids could have their own little note cards and these would be linked in some fashion.

 

 

Or, if I'm sitting down with a client at dinner, it would be very helpful if I could have a note to give me a refresher beforehand.

Obviously I know the client's relationship with me, and I might know a good deal about his business... but social details I can't keep track of well.

 

Client name: Bill Smith

Married to Jane Smith for 3 years -- trophy wife.

3 Kids, 2 grown, 1 in high school. 2 boys, 1 girl.

Divorced from Linda (very acrimonious, don't mention at all costs)

Allergic to fish. Loves steaks.

Originally from Canada, big hockey fan. Likes to travel. Was just in Bermuda.

Building a house in Orange County.

 

 

 

Notice that a lot of these are personal notes. I would NEVER want this kind of stuff in other services like Salesforce.com or indeed any source where other people could access them.

 

So what I want is some sort of data architecture where I can essentially construct a web of people's information around myself. Have that be easily accessible, searchable, and navigable. With certain biographical details automatically updating (for example, people's ages. Or if I move jobs, all the people previously tagged as "co-workers" be retagged "former Co-workers".

 

Yes, I could access some of this information by logging onto LinkedIn or Facebook, etc, but the information on those sites are not generally what I'm after and it's a not efficient way to get it.

Instead, what I want is to know immediately the person's relationship to ME, as well as details that are pertinent to ME, in the context of how I interact with that person. In a professional context, if I'm meeting that person, I might have like 3 minutes to get up to speed. So very fast and pertinent access to detail is crucial.

 

I do this often.  It's very easy.  IE, my husband has a company.  There are employees I may see only once a year or less.  I hate the idea of conversing with someone one year at a Christmas party for an hour & then two years later, seeing them & not remembering a single thing we discussed.  I have done this for years and just recently did this with a neighborhood party I went to where  I met a lot of neighbors I didn't know.   Just make a note for each person and/or family.  Add the pertinent info.  IE, food allergies, children's names & ages.  Whatever.  I sometimes add a keyword or simply use a tag. 

[gazumped 12,224]

Look up "farley file" in your search engine of choice.  There is lots of precedent for this type of record,  and a fair amount of specialised software (it would appear).  Like Burgers,  I just keep an up to date note on my contacts,  starting with where and when we first met.