In an old post I set forth my standard for evaluating software (See KRONOS – Evaluation Criteria for Software).
. Keystroke Count
. Return on Investment
. Opulence and Intuitiveness
. Networkability and Integration
. Options and Customization
. Suitability for the Task.
W * A * T * C * H
Most software that I evaluate is for BIG THINGS! … that is software that will transform the way you do business. Practice Management software changes the way lawyers track their time, manage their time and organize their information. It may be the difference between “respectability” and “profitability”. Document Assembly software changes the way that lawyers create documents. It allows leverage of intellectual talent, improved work product, and revenue generation in the multiples.
But there comes a time for “small tools” that measure high on the KRONOS scale. One such tool is Copy2Contact. Microsoft once had a vision of everyone trading VCARDs with their email. These attachments would allow you to, with one click, add a contact to your address book in Outlook. The Microsoft vision never fully materialized. And now people use GoogleApps and a wealth of other applications, like Salesforce and other. And so, it is only occasionally that an email arrives with a VCARD.
Enter Copy2Contact. Most people include a signature block at the end of their email, and this block often includes name, address and phone. This is the genius of Copy2Contact. When the email comes in, you highlight the Signature Block with Address, and click CONTROL-C-C. If you use AdvologixPM you click on SALESFORCE.COM and it posts the contact details into a Lead. One more click converts the Lead into a Contact. If you use Time Matters you can choose Outlook and then click on ConnectTM to upload the contact record to Time Matters. Or if you have enabled ExchangeSync or OutlookSync just be patient until the next synchronization.
I have been using an Outlook add-in called “gwabbit” since the first version was released in March 2009, and am very pleased. It is available for two other platforms: Exchange Server and Blackberry. The Outlook version costs $19.95. Have you tried it?
It has one feature that C2C apparently does not: It automatically finds (or tries to find) the signature block by itself, and does a fairly decent job considering the many variables. This qualifies as artificial intelligence, although some of the mistakes are doozies. Of course, you can edit any mistakes. If you do edit the program’s contact entry, gwabbit will (only with your permission) send a report to the publisher (with an option for you to comment as well), so the publisher can improve future versions. gwabbit has a cutesiness that will annoy some and amuse others (it has both effects on me).
On the other hand, C2C directly supports more platforms (for the many Outlook and Exchange users, this is of marginal importance because so many other platforms sync with those two). Also, C2C will work with any text on-screen, while gwabbit is limited to emails.