Using Evernote to Organize Relationships

[JCM 7]

The more I use Evernote, the less I seem to need reminders and updates from other people. It encourages me to be self-sufficient to the point where I actually find myself socializing less. Gathering data from meetings, e-mails and websites is so automatic and simple! But I tend to focus on the details—not the people.

I was surprised by this article: http://next.inman.co...-relationships/. It claims there is an advantage to using Evernote for relationship development, and offers a plan, too.

The author states:

In addition to being an Evernote lover, I am a big believer in AUTHENTICALLY building connections and nurturing relationships… and seek to infuse technology into every process. So, let me share the way I use Evernote as a Relationship Builder.

. . .

The Relationship Development Program concept is to have a system to nurture important connections and build real relationships with them. These people may be a combo of “online only” connections and those you see throughout the year at conferences, Starbucks for coffee, or in your slippers over video chats!

I don't know if I will go as far as the author has in terms of developing a set template for my relationships. But I do think I might start noting my Skype and Gmail chats more frequently, so I can review them for a better rapport with online contacts. Just dedicating a Notebook to a particular person seems exciting. It could show you things about yourself, your own interests, and your own intentions in the relationship.

Do you use Evernote to develop your personal or professional relationships? Share your tips and experiences.

[GrumpyMonkey 4,319]

The more I use Evernote, the less I seem to need reminders and updates from other people. It encourages me to be self-sufficient to the point where I actually find myself socializing less. Gathering data from meetings, e-mails and websites is so automatic and simple! But I tend to focus on the details—not the people.

I was surprised by this article: http://next.inman.co...-relationships/. It claims there is an advantage to using Evernote for relationship development, and offers a plan, too.

The author states:

In addition to being an Evernote lover, I am a big believer in AUTHENTICALLY building connections and nurturing relationships… and seek to infuse technology into every process. So, let me share the way I use Evernote as a Relationship Builder.

. . .

The Relationship Development Program concept is to have a system to nurture important connections and build real relationships with them. These people may be a combo of “online only” connections and those you see throughout the year at conferences, Starbucks for coffee, or in your slippers over video chats!

I don't know if I will go as far as the author has in terms of developing a set template for my relationships. But I do think I might start noting my Skype and Gmail chats more frequently, so I can review them for a better rapport with online contacts. Just dedicating a Notebook to a particular person seems exciting. It could show you things about yourself, your own interests, and your own intentions in the relationship.

Do you use Evernote to develop your personal or professional relationships? Share your tips and experiences.

An interesting topic. Thanks for raising it!

I use Evernote more and more to communicate with people these days through shared notes and notebooks, but I think it is still at the point where I send them stuff that they see, and that is about the extent of the collaboration. I am not big into social networks, but I do like people So, I have a template (http://www.princeton.edu/~cmayo/template.html) I use to keep track of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues (the Farley File).

I've been doing this kind of thing for years now, but didn't have a name for it until Don posted about his Farley Files. If I were managing thousands of relationships, and working with a team somewhere, I'd have CRM software, but for my own personal life, I think Evernote works beautifully.

More concretely speaking, I don't have many notebooks (http://www.princeton...e-notebook.html) and I don't have many tags (http://www.princeton...ernote-tag.html), but I often have a bunch of notes associated with one person through note links or random codes (http://www.princeton...ganization.html).

There seems to be a general trend in the devcup entries this year to make Evernote a little more social, and even romantic (http://devcup.everno...sions/8303-u-me)!