No.1 - Google Destop

WHY?
The amount of information that every diplomat stores in hard disks is growing fast. Therefore no matter how good you are in naming and organizing your files and your digital documents it will still be difficult to find the information you need.

WHAT IT DOES
Google Desktop is a tool to search your computer as easily as you search the web with Google. Google desktop can search inside emails, files, chat and visited web pages.
After the first installation the programme will initiate and index of all the files on the PC.
When Google Desktop is installed, you will find an additional icon in your applications tray (bottom right of your screen). If you double click on the icon you will be presented with a box similar to the one used for Google search which will allow you to make searches on your PC and get instant results.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
In order to make Google Desktop work more efficiently for your needs it is possible to set your Preferences. To do so Click on the Desktop Preferences link on any Google Desktop search results page (should be to the right of the search bar). Or you can Right-click on the Google Desktop icon in your toolbar, and click on Preferences.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Google Desktop (to be installed on your PC) can be downloaded for free at the site: http://desktop.google.com

No. 2 - Netvibes

WHY?
Diplomats are confronted every day with a vast amount of information to consult. Most of this information is available and consulted online. Diplomats have more information at their disposal now that they have ever had, but it doesn't mean they know what it the optimal way (if there is one) to access that information efficiently.
In particular it is very important to be timely informed and be able to follow last developments of events.
Therefore it is important to use a tool that allows for rapid detection and consultation of new information added in pre-defined sites.


WHAT IT DOES
Netvibes is basically an "aggregator", which means a tool  that reads the news feeds from your favorite web site and can show them simultaneously in one single place (in this case a webpage) . There are many different softwares and services that can do this, but Netvibes is one of the most effective, if we consider needs for diplomats.
In the past we used to keep track of updates on a website with news (or in blogs) you had to 'bookmark' websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added. Through the so called RSS technology it is now possible to keep track of updates in a much easier and quicker way.
This is the icon that is used for RSS service


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
In order to use Netvibes and create your own reference page, you have to sign up. The process is simple and fast. The service is free. Once you have you username and password you can access your page (sign in) and start choosing which services (RSS for example ) you want to place in your page. To do so you should use the "add content" button that is at the upper left end corner.

A simple step-by-step tutorial to set up Netvibes is available here


WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Netvibes can be setup for free at the site: http://www.netvibes.com

No. 3 - Wikipedia

WHY?
The normal tool of ordinary and simple searches has now become, also for diplomats, the Internet. In particular the different search engines available (such as Google). Since searches often concern people ( biographies) or issues, among first results obtained in search engines you will always find a reference contained in Wikipedia.


WHAT IT DOES
Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free content encyclopaedia in the world. It has been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Anyone with access to Internet can write and make changes to Wikipedia articles.
One of the examples of the use of Wiki concept in Diplomatic activities is the Diplopedia realized by the U.S. Department of State.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Wikipedia is available in several languages, but the sites have different contents and the number of articles vary. The most comprehensive one is the English version with more than 3 million articles. For information on people you should also look in the most appropriate national version, on top of the English version.
The main critical aspects underlying is the presumed "anarchy" of the Encyclopedia.
Information on the Wikipedia should be treated in the same critical way you would approach any other source: it is therefore important to verify claims made and to assess any potential bias

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Wikipedia is available in many languages. The English version (the biggest one) is available at: http://en.wikipedia.org
The Italian version in available at: http://it.wikipedia.org

No. 4 - Skype

WHY?
Frequent communications are essential in the diplomatic world. International phone calls are the norm in diplomatic network. The "Voice over IP" (VOIP) services offer interesting opportunities and can allow important savings through low cost calls.


WHAT IT DOES
There are many services that provide VOIP. The most popular voice communication service in the world is Skype. If the person you want to call is using Skype, it is possible to make unlimited and totally free calls to anyone in the world.


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
It is also possible to use Skype to make local and international calls to landline and mobile phones and also receive calls from these phones on your PC. This kind of service is not free, but are much cheaper than traditional landline and mobile international rates. These services are called SkypeOut and SkypeIn respectively.
In order to be able to use Skype you only need a PC (it can be also a laptop), an Internet connection (even WiFi is good), headphones with microphone connected to the computer.
You should run the Skype software.


WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Skype can be downloaded at: http://www.skype.com

No. 5 - Mind Mapping

WHY?
In  many occasions diplomats need to organize or to be organized. Sometimes this activity refers to practical events (Conference, Meeting, Visit. etc.), sometime it refers to concepts or ideas (Reports, Speeches, Analysis, etc.). In both cases a technique such as Mind mapping can be very helpful in order to structure (either the activities or the thoughts) and to plan.

WHAT IT DOES

A Mind Map is a way of organizing an area of information on a chart on a single page of paper. It contains words and drawings connected so as to show associations between them. Mind Maps use and stimulate the visual abilities of the mind. If represented visually, a bigger subject can be understood and remembered much more efficiently. By using visual elements, it becomes logically ordered and spontaneously expressive.
Anything can be mind mapped: a book one is reading, one’s to-do list, a complex set of diplomatic issues, the economy, flower arranging, or one’s experience of a piece of music.
Mind mapping has also been described as “the Swiss army knife of the brain.”


WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The concept of modern Mind mapping has been introduced and developed by Tony Buzan who has published extensively on his technique. According to Buzan, a Mind Mpa is a "a tool to overcome mental blocks, organize ideas, brainstorm, strengthen one's memory and imagination, and make meetings more productive". The technique is based on bio-physiological and neurophysiological research concerning the human brain.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Freemind is a good a good example of Mind mapping software which is available for free. The software can be downloaded at http://freemind.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Download

No. 6 - Delicious (Social Bookmarking)

WHY?
The first assumption is that once you have located useful information on the Internet, you will probably want to note the location of the information for easy future access. One simple way to do this is with bookmarking. The second assumption is that diplomats often work on many different PC (Office PC, Home PC, Laptop, etc...) and therefore have different bookmarks on every computer. The bookmarks are generally (or should be) a very selected list of websites which are essential for the daily work of the user.


WHAT IT DOES
Delicious is a online  service that allows registered users to tag, save, manage and share bookmarks of relevant web sites.
Using Delicious, a service which stores the bookmarks on a shared server, it is easy to have a single set of bookmarks kept in sync between all of your computers. Even if you use not your PC, you can access your bookmarks on the Delicious website.
If you want, you can also easily share your bookmarks and you can exchange suggestions with your colleagues.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
In order to use delicious, which is a free service, you only need to register. The bookmarks that will be saved and can be tagged for easy classification and retrieval. By adding a number of different tags to the same bookmark, you can include that bookmark into several topical collections with one click. For instance, a page tagged with “UN,” “Protocol,”,”Treaty,”and “internet” will show up in your collection for each of these four topics, even though the other resources in these collections may be completely different from each other.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
Delicious can be setup for free at the site: http://delicious.com

No. 7 - PDF (Printer)

WHY?
In many occasions it is necessary to create and/or exchange files containing documents that cannot be modified and look exactly like to original. A kind of digital photocopy. The PDF format ensure this possibility.

WHAT IT DOES
A PDF Printer works as a Microsoft Windows printer and allows you to write PDF documents from virtually any Microsoft Windows application.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
The PDF format can be obtained directly form the original file if you have a PDF generator on your PC. When this programme is installed it functions (and look like a printer) this means that to generate a PDF file it iwll be sufficient to print it using the PDF printer driver.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT
There are many PDF printers available. There are commercial software and free software. Bullzip is a Free PDF printer that can be downloaded at: http://www.bullzip.com

No. 8 - Doodle

WHY?
In diplomatic life it is often necessary to organize meetings which involve the participation of several individuals. Either for internal briefings or for external meetings  or just a simple appointment with many people, it is not always easy to find date and time arrangements that can be acceptable to all participants (or at least to key participants). In the past continuous telephone calls among Secretaries would, in the end, produce a tentative date and time. It can be a very time-consuming exercise. Using current available online tools for scheduling, can make this exercise a much easier and faster one. Doodle is one of the best services currently available online for this kind of activities.

WHAT IT DOES
Doodle basic service allows you to schedule set up a survey (or a poll) to propose date and times for an event to schedule.The service allows you to create a schedule proposal (time and date) and send the proposal to different people (it creates a link). Those invited will easily give their indications (choosing among the different scheduling options proposed) directly on the page contained in the link. You will be able to monitor the responses. When the poll is over you will be able to choose the most suitable time and date and communicate it automatically to those who have been involved in the exercise.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Doodle offers different level of services. Doodle’s basic FREE functions can be used without any download or registration (not even your email-address if you do not want to). Premium Doodle and Branded Doodle are more advanced services which can be personalized, but they can be used only on subscription basis.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND IT

Doodle is a free online application available at http://www.doodle.com

Other non essential but useful Tools and Services

Invitations to events
The diplomatic world is also characterized by many official events (lunches, dinners, cocktail, galas, Celebrations of National Days, etc). In many case the invitations for these events need to be formal and therefore they use the traditional means (invitation card sent by mail or delivered by hand).
There are other occasions (such as cultural events, or other less formal events) when many people are invited, where some interactive services can be useful to launch and track the whole procedure of invitations.
One good example is the free service "evite"
Evite - http://www.evite.com


Keeping track of information

Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic. Google Alerts allow to monitor specific news or stories or to get the latest on a person or event. Every time that Google alert detects a new page with the term that has been indicated (for example the name of your Minister or the name of your dossier). The more specific the term will be, the less you will get "false positive" indications. 

Google Alerts -  http://www.google.com/alerts


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