Here's what I like about Plaxo:
- It can act as an online calendar (didn't I use Google Calendar for that?)
- It can act as an online addressbook (didn't I use ScheduleWorld with SyncML to my N80i for that?)
- It acts as a online social app, which seem to have become very popular lately. See Hyves.nl, MySpaces.com, Facebook.com, etc.
- It syncs with nearly everything: Outlook, Thunderbird, Google (Calendar AND Addressbook), Facebook, LinkedIn. You name it and it syncs with it. Unless you have a Symbian phone like my N80i...
I was not looking for yet another calendar, as I have been using Google Calendar together with ScheduleWorld to sync it to my Symbian phone. This works and even allows you to sync multiple shared calendars to your phone. It still has this beta/buggy feeling to it. With Plaxo one can have one Google Calendar set to automatically sync with the Plaxo Calendar. There isn't a possibility to sync multiple calendars though. Not as far as I can tell.
Online Addressbook
I have been battling with keeping my contacts up to date in all my applications and phone. It used to work well with ScheduleWorld again, but after my N80i got replaced by a new phone (new IMEI and such) things have gotten messed up. Duplicate entries that keep coming back after I sync things. I like using ScheduleWorld as it allows me to do a SyncML sync OTA (Over-The-Air). I am willing to give this up though, if I can get my phone to succesfully sync with either Outlook (work) or Thunderbird (home). We'll see.
The addressbook is pretty cool. It's complete and links locations to maps, it allows click-to-call and keeps a history. It also automatically syncs with your LinkedIn connections and can be set up to automatically sync with your Google Addressbook in GMail. On top of that, it recognizes whether your contacts in your addressbook are also Plaxo members. Depending on what information they have decided to share with whom, their contact information is automatically kept up to date.
Social App
Although I have not been into Hyves, MySpaces and the likes, I like the Pulse in Plaxo. It shows me recent activity from my connections. If someone shares a link in Google Reader, it is shown in the Pulse. As soon as I publish this blog post, it will be listed in my connections' Pulse. Even if someone updates their profile, it is shown. Finally it even shows who your conenctions connect with.
Syncing
I have been pleasently surprised by the wide variety of offline and online applications Plaxo syncs with. I have just set it up to sync my addressbook with Thunderbird. Outlook is about to finish its sync also. With Outlook it is also possible to sync your calendar, tasks and notes. For now I have chosen to just sync the contacts. That's enough for now.
Besides the offline applications like Thunderbird and Outlook, Plaxo also syncs with your LinkedIn contacts, Facebook, Windows Live, GMail addressbook.
Finally it's nice to see that Plaxo members can choose who they want to share their profile information with. One can either choose to share it with Business connections, Friends, Family, Everyone of Nobody. For me that's a definite plus over communities like Hyves and Facebook.
Hope this blog post got youinterested and made you decide to also become a Plaxo member. That way we can easily stay in touch and always have up to date contact information.
