37signals Product Blog

MacStories.net gives in-depth explanation of how it manages a team of bloggers with Basecamp and Backpack

MacStories.net uses Basecamp and Backpack to bring together the blog's international team.

The authors start out describing how they use Basecamp, which they describe as "so powerful because of its simplicity":

I found the process of adding new todo lists and milestones very easy and user friendly and most of all, I like being able to sort my todo list however I want with drag & drop and show only the items that are due during a specific date range. Speaking of our case, we create a new milestone for every scheduled post (usually reviews and doublestories), then assign some todos to that milestone.

Author Federico Viticci also uses Headquarters, an iPhone Basecamp app, and describes it as "probably one of the most beautiful apps that ever touched my iPhone."

Cody, another author at the blog, then describes how he integrates Backpack into the process:

You can create pages for just about anything, and I personally dedicate a separate page to each article I write. In that page, I can create a small personal Todo list, add notes, attach files, and create a Writeboard where the article exists. This way Federico can see my changes to the article, he’ll get notified when different versions are ready, and he can help me proofread (or vice-versa). Everything is in one spot, and you can come back to this information if needed...

The Journal is like a miniature Twitter. It’s where you can update your status (albeit for professional reasons, such as, “This lasagna is awesome!”) to inform your coworkers what you’re doing. It’s great because Federico and I can see what’s finished, what we’re working, and perhaps get a little insight into our moods that day. If I start working on something or complete a task, I’ll note it in the Journal.

The post also discusses how the team uses Backpack Extras like Logbook and Satchel. This is just a taste of the lengthy post. Read the full article.

New father: "Backpack has changed my life and made the work/family/life stuff so much easier to manage"

Shaun Andrews wrote a great post explaining how Backpack has made it possible for him and his wife to maintain a semi-normal working schedule while taking care of their 6-month-old twin boys.

The first day I created the Backpack account was one of the most productive-feeling days I had in months. I quickly set my wife up with an account. In the days following we’ve found so many uses for Backpack. My wife has the great idea of setting up a work schedule calendar, so now we know who’s working when, and who’s watching the boys. Amy also setup a babysitter calendar, so we both know when we have friends and family over for an afternoon, or an evening out. For work, I’ve setup a page for each client and keep track of todos, client emails, notes, etc.

Its great knowing that, at a glance, I’m working tomorrow morning, and have baby duty at 1pm, and that at 6pm a friend is watching the boys so Amy and I can enjoy a night out.

I guess what I really wanted to say is, Thank You! Backpack has changed our lives, and made dealing with the work/life balance so much easier. I’ve even found time to start writing more (using writeboards, of course) and have started keeping track of some of my passion projects (Spendly.com) and am making progress on my goals.

Thank you so much for creating such a useful and easy-to-use tool. Backpack is great, and I look forward to being a happy customer for years to come!

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting way? Let us know.

Backpack helps grad student write masters thesis

Daniel Dehner wrote to tell us how Backpack helped him with his masters thesis:

Backpack became my partner in writing a 65 page masters thesis as I stored links, references, and research materials on it. I could access it anywhere, and it was like password protected, virtual storage. I could let my advisor see my progress during various phases of my work, and it never let me down. If one computer failed or froze, I could just move to another one, and recall what I had last saved. I could email links and materials to the page on the fly for reading later. I could send myself deadline reminders and use the calendar to schedule interviews and other research needs.

The "Working Document" page (right) has a couple of versions of my paper and a reference list. I can download my paper, work on it, and either upload it or email it to the page. Sometimes during a long writing session, I will upload my work in progress once or twice to "save" in addition to saving on my computer.

The "Research Page" (above) is where I use the "Note" function to paste links and their descriptions. I also can upload PDF and Word documents of articles etc. right as I find them for review later. Since all I need is an internet connection, all my materials and links are a few clicks away. Kind of like a traveling "Favorites" list.

I love the drag and drop so I can prioritize and rearrange. Backpack is an apt title for this product.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting way? Let us know.

Use Backpack to help sell items at Kijiji, eBay, Craigslist, etc.

Mike Leonard wrote in to suggest using Backpack to offer supplemental information when selling items on Kijiji, eBay, Craigslist, etc.

I use Backpack as a supplemental information page when selling items on [classifieds site] Kijiji.

I set up my ad and include a link back to my Backpack page, which has been publicly shared.

Instead of the standard 4 images allowed i can display as many pictures and very detailed descriptions as needed for the item I am selling. It has helped significantly when selling higher end items where people want to see more detail than is offered in the standard Kijiji ad.

The best part about it (as you know) is how fast you can get the page up and running.

Here's an example: Mike's page that offers details on a Sharp 26" LCD Television for sale.

Have a tip for other 37signals customers? Let us know.

Why the Backpack Journal is "killer"

In this blog post, Sam Harrelson talks about why the Backpack Journal is "killer":

I'm going back to Backpack for workflow management. The web interface is fantastic (and familiar), I can easily email in material, create seperate pages, feel secure, integrate easily with GMail, Google Calendar and be completely web-based. 

However, the killer app Backpack has going for it is the Journal feature:

I'm using it for product management, status updates to myself and as a "private twitter" etc. It's like the anti-social bookmarketing site Pinboard for micro-messaging.

The article also raves about Satchel, which brings Backpack to your iPhone.

Yes, [Satchel] costs $10, but it's well worth the price. Satchel is speedy, works "offline" (whatever that means anymore), and intuitive. I can also easily update my Journal through Satchel. Plus, there are hacks and apps for getting Backpack to work well as a web app (like GMail) on the iPhone if preferred.

Read the full piece.

Web Worker Daily: A daily checklist in Backpack helps with marketing efforts

Tools and Techniques for Better Lead Generation [Web Worker Daily] argues that maintaining a consistent effort is key to marketing. The author says you need a reliable system so you can see exactly what you’ve done and when, as well as what’s left to be done — and Backpack is a great tool for this:

I have a page set up for each day of the workweek, and I evenly distribute the action tasks for all of my marketing tactics throughout the week.

On a given day, I simply click on that day’s page and get to work on the tasks, which are within a handy checklist (see image above along the left).

As I complete the items, I check them off. My goal is to get through the entire list on any given day. If I don’t get through the list for some reason, my rule is to get through all of the week’s tasks before the following Monday. This provides me with a little flexibility without letting me completely off the hook or allowing me to get too lax with my efforts (thus, adding consistency).

Each Monday, I un-check all the lists on every page, which helps me to stay accountable to my plans and goals for my business. I can clearly see what got done and what did not get done over the previous week. After un-checking the items, I’m ready to begin another week.

Steve Rubel discusses workstreaming with the Backpack Journal

Steve Rubel is SVP, Director of Insights for Edelman Digital, a division of Edelman - the world's largest independent PR firm. He recently posted: "Workstreaming in 140 Characters with Backpack."

Nowadays, status update boxes are everywhere: LinkedIn, Twitter, Friendfeed, Yammer, AIM, GTalk, Facebook and more. The stream is becoming a de facto way that we communicate with others. However, thinking in 140 characters is also changing how I work. I am now using status updates to workstream.

I have dusted off using Backpack as a tool for managing my life. It's improved a lot since I last used it a few years ago. One of their recent additions is the Backpack Journal, which I love. I can update it throughout the day to capture a running log of what I worked on, when. Right now this is just for my own use but Backpack works great in teams as well. Above is a screenshot from my Journal this am. I also update it from my iPhone using an app called Satchel and on the desktop use text expansion software to enter items more quickly. I use codes and phrases to track my time which I refer to when I enter my time reports.

Learn more about workstreaming (i.e. the publishing of work-related activities and events to your remote colleagues, usually via RSS but sometimes in other formats and ways).

Why The Strategic Incubator chooses Backpack for internal project management

Matthew Scott of The Strategic Incubator just wrote: "Internal Project Management: Backpack Is Our Choice."

Think of Backpack as your small business intranet where you share, store, secure, and discuss everything that is important for your team to accomplish a client engagement.

For example, we are currently working on multiple client engagements. We have an office located in Greater NYC area and one in Portland. Occasionally we have specialty contractors from different parts of country. We needed a shared system enabling each person to access, share, and store information vital to the client project success.

I’ll share a brief overview of how we use Backpack within minutes of partnering with a new client.

When Company-X partners with The Strategic Incubator, a process is set in motion:

• We establish a Backpack page of Company X. It takes us about 10 seconds and then we click one button to send an automatic email and text message notifying selected members of our team that we have a new project page.
• Each team member gets to work adding to the to-do list, notes section, and the writeboard section to brainstorm some preliminary creative ideas.

Before Backpack, we would pick-up the phone and receive a work status a few times a day.

Now, we just open our shared and secured Backpack URL site from any computer and in seconds I can see exactly what our individuals are doing.

The full post also includes lots of sharp ideas for how you can use Backpack for your business.

Backpack helps keep author's inbox cleaner by streamlining writing and editing process

In How Backpack Made Me Like Gmail More, Nate Burgos shares how Backpack has helped him keep his inbox cleaner by streamlining his writing and editing process.

When a web-based product (or any designed product or service) inspires this, it’s worth acquiring and using. My editor Silvia acknowledged during our initial use of the trial version that Backpack’s alleviation of multiple emails (not to mention multiple attachments) was a very good thing. Silvia’s comfort level, combined with mine, was upped.

Now my Gmail inbox is thankfully shallower, with fewer messages and files when it comes to my editorial process. Gmail offers high storage but it feels better to arrange, share and store project-based content and information in a systematic way with Backpack. This makes Gmail more breathable and fun.

Read the full article for an in-depth look at how Nate uses Backpack to collaborate with his editor on blog posts and some observations from the organizational move from Gmail to Backpack.

"Each Page serves as a central place to store the stuff pertaining to the topic of that Page, like this for a past topic for a blog entry."

How a business school student uses Highrise and Backpack to aid in his internship hunt

Neil Kelty is in business school and is using Highrise and Backpack to help him in his internship search. Details below.

I'm a freshman at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business studying Economic Consulting & Public Policy Analysis, and I'm in the hunt for an internship this summer.
My search process actually started in Backpack where I created a page with a list of all the internships I had found after scouring the Internet and reaching out to personal contacts. Using that list I was able to narrow my search down to 10-15 organizations that I feel would offer me the best possible fit and experience.

This is where Highrise comes in, because it allows me to mange the organizations offering internships, store all the required documents, track my progress using tags, and keep myself on target with tasks. One of the biggest helps has been the ability to customize the task categories. I've been able to create individual labels for applications, cover Letters, essays, and reference letter requests. Additionally, the "Dates to Remember" field allows me to enter the due date for each application and then Highrise automatically generates a task on my to-do list a week before I must submit the application.

Without Highrise, I'd still be sputtering along with a series of file and folders on my Mac. That process would dramatically slow me down, as I'd have to keep paper to do lists all over the place (and paper doesn't send you an email reminding you to get on the ball, but Highrise does).

Above: Custom Task categories in Highrise.

Above: Using Cases in Highrise.

Do you use a 37signals product in an interesting or noteworthy way? Let us know.