Stikkit is a new web service in the same organizational vein as Backpack, but it employs some pretty wild tricks and technology to help get your productivity on. The idea behind Stikkit is to get rid of the manual page organization that locks you into one form of hierarchy or another by allowing you to create simple text notes, and organizing your information by watching the language you use in these notes. Tags also play a heavy role here, but for example: if you start writing some ideas down in a note, but then start a new line with "buy eggs," Stikkit now knows you just created a todo, and it automatically lists that note in your todo section, but it can also list the note in your bookmarks section if, say, you add a link to a site you need to visit at a later date. Stikkit is also smart enough to catch notes with a person's name, phone number and IM name, as it will then file that under your peeps section as a contact card. It's a pretty wild system that I urge you to check out, and they have a few screencasts listed on their main page to help you get your feet wet.But why am I telling you all this, you ask? Well, Stikkit is gaining some pretty impressive Mac OS X integration that makes using this service a real dream. First up is a 'New Stikkit Package' created by Nik, one of their enthusiastic users (found via DF). This bundle of tools allows you to create a new Stikkit via AppleScript, your favorite app launcher like Quicksilver or LaunchBar, and even a Service (you know, Apple Menu > Services) which lets you create a Stikkit from text selected in almost any Mac OS X application. It's a pretty handy bundle that offers a lot of flexibility in how you work with Stikkit.
Another really impressive integration trick this service has is accepting drag and drop calendar events from iCal. I found this screencast on Stikkit's blog which demonstrates literally dragging an event from iCal onto a new Stikkit note in a browser, and the note collects all the info it needs like the name, date and time of the event, and even any notes you might have added in iCal. I was impressed to discover that this even works with Firefox, where traditional Mac OS X drag and drop goodness like this tends not to play.
If you've been looking for a handy online PIM to store your stuff, Stikkit is a great option, though due to its unique technology, it might take some getting used to. I urge you to check out their screencasts to get started, and then move on to cool tools like Nik's package if you catch the bug.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-21-2007 @ 1:22PM
UnderpantsGnome said...
My initial impressions are they can stikkit.
First off for the lamest username requirements I've seen in a while "nickname must start with a lowercase letter..." it has to start with a lowercase letter, WTF? I'm sure they have some reason for this, but I'm also sure it can be workerd around in the code.
After 2 page load erros trying to create an account, I'll pass on this. It sounded promising, but at this point it's already not worth the hassle.
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1-21-2007 @ 1:32PM
David Chartier said...
#1: It's a beta service, and the weekends are typically when folks like these guys might chose to do maintenance. It really is an impressive service worthy of a second glance if you can get past the hiccups. Hell, so far, I bet .Mac has been down more often than Stikkit has. :)
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1-21-2007 @ 1:34PM
Matt Moriarity said...
I am hoping that the page load errors are just due to an unexpected increase in traffic to the site. Hopefully they will fix this soon.
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1-21-2007 @ 3:17PM
Michael Kallweitt said...
Nice idea, but having tried this service I'm not impressed.
The site is terribly slow, has no secure login (after all you're supposed to store some sensitive data), fails to recognize international addresses or tasks in other languages than English.
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1-21-2007 @ 3:27PM
Leif said...
This is not a web service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Service), but rather a web application (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Application). It would be so nice if everyone could just stop calling all web 2.0 apps services -- oh my, the Confusion!
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1-21-2007 @ 8:38PM
Matt Moriarity said...
Service isn't exactly an improper term. The people at stikkit are providing a service: they are storing this data and allow you to access it easily. That is a service. It is also on the web. Hence: web service. Sure, it is not a web service in the XML-RPC/SOAP/REST sense, but web service is still not inaccurate or wrong by any means.
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1-21-2007 @ 8:39PM
martin said...
Site is down for some reason. Just when I wanted to use it too!
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1-21-2007 @ 10:26PM
Mart said...
Uh, actually what that screencast shows will happen on any web form text field when you drag an ical appointment into it... see, I'm about to drag an iCal appointment here:
Nothing Special
scheduled for January 21, 2007 at 11:00 PM to January 22, 2007 at 12:00 AM
wow, TUAW has iCal integration! :-P
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1-22-2007 @ 1:39AM
Rael Dornfest said...
Howdy,
Thanks a ton, David, for pointing out the amazingly cool work done by stikkiteer iNik. More than anything, I just love seeing someone turn what we've built into something else that they find even more useful. (Not to mention something we'd use ourselves.)
We were, it seems, hit by a whopping great wave of traffic thanks to TUAW which resulted in things temporarily being bogged down.
All's back to normal now and those of you who gave it a whirl only to watch your browser spin, I do hope you'll give it another look.
Thanks again for the wonderful write-up.
Best,
Rael
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1-22-2007 @ 8:47AM
Matthew said...
I've been trying it out myself for the last two months-ish, and have been getting other member's reminders. I find that alarming and a deal-breaker: I won't be putting anymore personal info into their database as a result.
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1-22-2007 @ 11:32AM
iNik said...
In addition to the New Stikkit Package, I also have been posting a few other tips for Mac Stikkit users on my site. Here's a link to everything about Stikkit so you can keep up on what I'm doing, if you're so inclined: http://inik.net/taxonomy/term/199
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1-22-2007 @ 12:33PM
Rael Dornfest said...
Howdy,
Matthew, we pride ourselves on the amount of thought we put into security and privacy, so of course your comment concerns me.
I believe it's probably more likely that someone has shared a stikkit or three with you and set the reminder to all (this happened to me once too).
We'll be contacting you directly to check in and make sure that's what's happening. Either way, thanks for pointing out anything you may have noticed that gave you pause.
Best,
Rael
P.s. You should also feel free to contact me directly [see contact information at http://valuesofn.com/contact.html]
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1-22-2007 @ 8:03PM
Rael Dornfest said...
Just as a brief follow-up. This is precisely what was happening with Matthew.
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1-27-2007 @ 2:12AM
Andy Skogrand said...
I just want to say that I love this service. I had been with Backpack before, but I think these guys are onto something, enough so that I've now switched.
Let me make this clear: give these guys a chance. You won't regret it.
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