Soy Andina: The Blog

Screenshot of my Filemaker Pro documentary film database

Over at Doculink — a terrific online community for doc filmmakers — someone asked for suggestions for databases to use for mailing lists. I thought I could contribute to the discussion by posting a screenshot of the database I developed for fundraising, PR and distribution with the help of Fernanda Rossi:

Click to enlarge:

Notes: Category fields on bottom are pop-up lists, e.g
- Media - newspaper
- radio - TV
- Blog - eZine

Added note to geeks who care about such stuff:

I use Groundspring to manage my database for the eNewsletter. But probably not for long. I'm probably going to switch to using either Feedblitz or (more likely) Zookoda, which will enable me to send enewsletters directly as blog entries (or summaries of entries). I like the idea of consolidating my online tools.

What to do when your computer crashes or gets robbed?

I am amazed how many computer-reliant people don't back up or insure their computers.

Not sure why that is, except I guess we think crashes or robberies will happen to the other guy, not us.

I was probably like that myself. But last year before moving to Lima I got renter's insurance with off-premises coverage to cover possible theft. And I started backing up my data to a hard drive and DVDs, albeit on less than regular basis.

When I got robbed in january, I had most of my files backed up and eventually got reimbursed for most of the loss which enabled me to buy replacement laptop.

So this is a preachy reminder to anyone reading/listening: are you backing up your data? Because some time your hard drive will crash. Are you prepared?

To make backup simple, I use - for the Mac - SilverKeeper (free) and SuperDuper (free or $20 for full version).

As for insurance: For laptops, go with Safeware (about $80 a year). Or get your computer/camera gear covered under your homeowner/renter's policy (but careful, some don't cover gear if you tell them it's primarily for business purposes)

I'm posting this from my handheld!

I've had this cool free app sitting on my Treo handheld for months, but couldn't figure out how to use it until now. It lets you post to your website from a handheld - like I'm doing now. Crazy! I'm in a car heading to Nashville, TN, blogging.

Update: Now I realize I don't need any 3rd party app to blog from my Treo, it's built in. I just send an email to a special address. Even cooler. For you geeks who care about such things.

Behind the Scenes with Sonnet Media

I couldn't be doing what I'm doing right now - updating the website almost instantly, as easy as sending an email - without the help of Sonnet Media. They just made us their cover story. Our 15 megabytes of fame....