– Set up Google Alerts under topics of interest. I use terms like productivity, web-based tools, etc.
– Ask people you know for their top five web-based tools.
– Read blogs
The elephant in the room for many corporate people today is ‘firewalls’. Many employees feel restricted by their company blocking access to leading edge web-based tools.
One solution is to demonstrate the benefit of the tool and weigh that against the specific risks. By having the conversation, it may lead to more access. If not, the alternative is bringing your own device to work and using it. Not ideal, however the benefit of using the tool may outweigh the inconvenience. For many people with a corporate BlackBerry and personal phone or tablet, this is happening already.
My last point is about subscriptions. Marketplaces like iTunes and Android can point us to buy free or $0.99. I am all for value and I encourage you to do a ‘back of an envelope’ exercise on the value of a paid subscription for a web-based tool versus cost. To help you, most tools have a free trial period.
We live in a world of rapid change. It’s full of excitement and opportunity. Native apps are extremely beneficial and I fully endorse their use. This article should get you to thinking about the many incremental options available on the web.
*The Cooperative Institutional Research Program report 2012.
