The Confident Copywriter

Posts Tagged ‘Microsoft Outlook Connector’

Two days ago, I received an email about the latest Google toy, Google Buzz. I don’t know why I received it, but it looked interesting. So I tucked it away for a rainy day.

Yesterday, I caught a business report on the radio. The host was discussing a new group of Outlook features, collectively titled Outlook Social Connector.

Seems a trend is gearing up, so I thought we’d discuss it.

As I read the email and listened to the radio ad, my first thought was , “How can these tools help time-ravaged copywriters?”

Or can they?

Google Buzz

Google Buzz integrates with gmail, for easier connecting to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. The website states, “Used on a PC or mobile, Buzz reminds us of an RSS combined with all of your social networking—all within the existing Gmail and Google.com infrastructure.”

Google Buzz has 5 main features:

1. Friends you’ve emailed via gmail are automatically added. (Hey! Just like my Droid! Oh, wait. I’m not crazy about that feature.)
2. Integrated full-size photo sharing via “Rich fast sharing”
3. Swaps between friends and family, publicly or privately
4. Dynamic updates, reducing individual notifications
5. An intelligent interface: it connects you to friends of friends, then ‘learns’ your preferences over time

Unfortunately, Google Buzz got off to a rocky start. Inbox spamming and privacy issues smeared the product launch. Despite an apology from Todd Jackson, Buzz product manager, time will tell if Buzz lives up to its name.

Outlook Social Connector

Outlook Social Connector makes it easier to connect to social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook via your email inbox, so you can “keep track of your friends and colleagues” while growing your professional network.

I hear an echo.

Rather than interfacing through gmail, though, Social Connector is currently available in Microsoft Office 2010 Beta.
“OSC”, as the tool has officially been dubbed, offer a minimum of 14 features…far too many to list here. Feel free to check them all out.

Interestingly, the website offers a LinkedIn provider to Outlook 2010 users. Now that might be worth looking into.

Apparently, both tools (and who knows how many clones to follow), are engineered to save us time and make our lives ‘easier.’

I’m not yet convinced. I still have days when I want to smash my PC with a big hammer and go back to pen and paper.

What do you think? Are these advancements, or just additional time-suckers to clutter up our overloaded inboxes?