Viigo: Minimizing Email Clutter

Welcome back to Nan the Power User, where I blend my passion for BlackBerry use with a bit of a business twist. Today, we’re going to talk about a mashup that I use to minimize my email clutter by using Viigo, my RSS reader of choice. If you are confused about what RSS means to you, look no further than the excellent video explanation from Common Craft. No time? Here’s the quick rundown. Similar to push email on your BlackBerry, instead of you going out to your favorite websites to see if there is new information, the data is pushed to you from your choices. Even though many of us in the BlackBerry Nation love using Viigo, there are still those companies and organizations that send out email newsletters and updates. What I’m excited about is being able to dump those email updates and newsletters into Viigo, so I can minimize the clutter in my inbox. To do so, I use a website called Mailbucket.org. Mailbucket allows me to convert standard email newsletters (actually just about any email) into an RSS feed. I then plug in the RSS (XML) feed into Viigo. So now I not only receive newsletters, but I have also chosen to receive Google Alerts on myself and my clients via Viigo. If you haven’t set up Google Alerts for yourself and your clients, you are missing out on a great opportunity to be a more important part of their lives. When new articles appear for each of your clients, drop them a line to congratulate them on their hard work and achievements; you’ll be surprised at how often you’ll be the first or the only one. This type of honest appreciation for their work can mean the difference you need to beat out your competitor, because you’ve branded yourself as an asset. You should know what information is available about you on the Internet. It gives you a great opportunity to quickly fix any information that may be incorrect. Another benefit of using Viigo is the timely coverage of important events that it provides. Some of the coverage that Viigo provides includes election coverage, WES and BBDC. These special additions allow attendees of these events to better schedule their conference sessions. Typically, these updates are available with a special download from Viigo. How to create an RSS feed via mailbucket.org Say Ashley would like to set up Google Alerts for herself as an RSS feed. She would do the following:

• Come up with an original name for her email that others might not use such as ashley1019@mailbucket.org (it will always be @mailbucket.org) • Go to Google Alerts (www.google.com/alerts), fill out the form and enter the email address as ashley1019@mailbucket.org • Now, she would go to Viigo > Add Channel > Enter URL > then she would enter http://mailbucket.org/ashley1019.xml (she could also enter a custom title, such as Google Alerts – Ashley)

One more thing, don’t lose all the feeds you have set up and customized. Your feeds are portable and will come with you as long as you set up a user name and password. Not sure how? Go to the Menu > Options > Account and complete the registration there. As a special treat for all you Power Users out there, here’s a look at how Viigo will look on the upcoming BlackBerry Storm.

Do you have a great way you use your BlackBerry for business that others may not have thought about? Is there a better way of doing what I did? Drop me a line, I might love it and write it up!

As seen on BlackBerryCool.com