Productivity Portfolio

For argument's sake, let's admit the web is full of content, most of if we can do without. But, we often come across pages worth saving or sharing. These pages could be the result of a search query or suggestions from colleagues. Have you ever considered what is the best way to save good content? And how do you find that content again?

People tend to take one of three approaches to this problem:

1. They bookmark the site

2. They email themselves the web page

3. They print the web page

Although these options partially solve the problem, they're inadequate. They don't work well for finding or sharing the data. As example, you have 243 browser bookmarks but which one has that great product review? Did you put that bookmark in your Favorites folder or your Shopping folder? Worse, once you find the bookmark, you may discover the page has changed.

Some of you are saying that's why you print these pages. OK, what if someone asked you for a copy of that product review? Chances are you'll return to the web and give them the URL rather than using the copier or fax. Although email is better for sharing, you still need to find the information.

Is there a better method? Yes, the service is called Furl. The name was derived from File URL. You can think of Furl as your online file cabinet with search capabilities. Like most file cabinets, you can choose to have specific drawers accessible and lock others. One nice difference is this file cabinet is available from any computer accessing using the web.

Furl offers a button or toolbar that integrates with your web browser. When you find a web page worth saving, you click the toolbar button. A dialog pops up with the page title and any highlighted text. You can file the page in a specific folder and add keywords or comments.

The most appealing aspect of Furl for me is information retrieval. I'm continually finding web pages that I want to read later. Furl allows me save these pages and retrieves them for reading at my convenience. I type a few words about the page in the search box and the reference appears.

We should warn you that Furl has an addictive quality. At first, we used it for capturing technical notes from Microsoft and product data sheets. Next, we started adding product reviews, recipes, and online receipts. Now, we find ourselves setting up research project folders and sharing the content.

Another strong point of Furl is the ability to share information. For example, you can create a subscription and send an email listing of links to subscribers for one or more topic folders. You can also send specific article links using email and add your comments. We often use this method when sending articles of interest to clients. And for those people interested in sharing their links on a broader scale, Furl offers web site integration and RSS feeds.

There are some limitations to Furl. Currently, you can't share private data. If you wanted to collaborate and view a private folder with a coworker, you need to create a separate account and share the password. This really isn't a problem as the service is presently free and the account creation process takes 2 minutes. Another limitation is some web pages can't be saved. While we were writing this article, Furl was adding a new set of tools to solve some of these issues such as frames.

We usually don't write about beta products, but this service is an exception. Our basic concern about beta products is stability. Our experience has been very positive and we haven't worried about data loss. As a safety measure, we could export the information as a bookmark file to use with our browser. We also found the toolbar installation very easy. There may be an issue if you use software that suppresses pop-ups, but the company offers a solution.

The second issue on beta products is cost. Currently, the service is free and accepting donations. Most likely, the company will offer several plans. Perhaps, one version would be free or low cost with relevant ads and another would be add-free for a fee. Either way, we believe the service offers a much-needed solution to the growing information management problem.

Update: In September of 2004, Furl.Net was acquired by LookSmart. The service is also out of beta and remains free.

Additional Resources

Cost: Free
URL: www.furl.net
5 Minute Furl Tutorial

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