Podcast/Video: Xobni & Co-Founder Matt Brezina

If you aren't using the Xobni plugin for Microsoft Outlook, then its time to upgrade from stone knives and bear skins to some new email + social networking tools. I had the pleasure of interviewing Xobni co-founder Matt Brezina earlier this year about Xobni, back when it was still in closed beta. Xobni's one of those innovative products I wish I'd thought of. It digs into your Outlook pst/ost files and pulls out valuable nuggets that help you use email more effectively. In addition to the podcast, I've also recorded a demo of Xobni and delved into some of the deeper capabilities on my personal The Converging Network blog.

Check out the podcast, demo (below) and my other NWW and TCN blog posts about Xobni. I think after listening, reading and seeing how Xobni works, you'll find it worthwhile enough to download it and give it a try. And if you are like me, it will be one of those add-on software gadgets you actually keep around for a while. Xobni's been installed on my computer since February, and given how quickly I toss less-than-useful software, that says a lot about Xobni.

Listen:

Why do I like Xobni so much? Here's the quick skinny:

• Connecting email and social networking. Xobni recently added integration with LinkedIn. Now you can go directly to the email sender's LinkedIn profile and see their uploaded LinkedIn picture.
• Sender Email Stats. It's handy knowing that someone sends most of their emails to you during certain times of the day. Just think what you could do with that kind of information!
• Find those attachments quicker. "Now, which email was it that Ike sent me with the latest spreadsheet?" ... search... sort... search... sort some more....  Sound familiar? Attachments from the sender are now right at your finger tips.
• Easier to locate those hard to remember names. Ever had someone ask, "Who was the [fill in the blank] that worked with Sam at [company xyz]? Do you remember? I think he was cc'd on some of our emails." Me, I almost never remember. That was thousands of emails ago. Now you can go pull up any email from Sam and see everyone that's been involved in your of your email dialogs.
• Well behaved. I normally avoid Outlook (and even browser) plugins like the plague. It seems inevitable that something is going to make Outlook unstable. I've had the opposite experience with Xobni. That's really nice for a change.

Well enjoy the podcast, and let me know any feedback about this video. I'd love to hear any thoughts or comments.

Like this? Here are some of Mitchell's recent posts.

Is Live Search Making Headway Against Google?

Live Mesh Sighting For Macs

S+S: The Kobayashi Maru of Microsoft

Podcast: Simon Crosby - Why Simon Loves Hyper-V

Partners Quake Under Microsoft Hosting $3 Pricing

Pictures From Microsoft WPC

Product Reviews:
Microsoft Live Mesh Google App Engine
LiveNewsCameras.com Xobni Outlook plugin

Recent Converging Network Blog Posts:
Get Ready For XaaS Everywhere
Unbelievably Bad Web Password Security
Back From Hiatus, Saved by Web 2.0 Technology
It Takes a Village.. ah, actually, being there first and tons of hard work

Favorite Book Recommendations:
The Big Switch
Zero Day Attack
Clear Blogging

Check out Mitchell's
Converging On Microsoft Podcast. Current Podcast Episode: Security Mike Gets Serious About Security

Also visit Mitchell's personal blog The Converging Network and SSAATY Security Podcast.

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