I can't tell you how many times I've been in the car and a new idea comes to mind, or an email I need to write nags at me, or I remember I have to pick something up at the store only to lose these thoughts in the abyss of my scattered brain. I'm not one to multitask in the car, so I don't like writing things down while I'm driving. I don't like sending myself voicemails, because my thoughts always end up piling up in my saved messages never to be heard from again. I just never really found a great way to deal with remembering fleeting thoughts–it's just not one of my strong points.
Well, I have now found a way to keep my thoughts accessible. I Jott it.
Jott Networks, the company behind Jott (it's still in beta), describes their service as
….a revolutionary new service that automatically converts your
voice into e-mail and text messages—anytime, anywhere, with any cell
phone. Jott™ makes you more productive and efficient by capturing your
ideas, notes to self, tasks, and more without using your keypad.
Sounds simple. It is. You call a toll free number, the system asks "Who do you want to Jott?" You tell the nice voice who you want to Jott (yourself, your buddy, your associates, or a link), then you say what's on your mind. Magically, an email or text message is sent to you or whomever you sent the JOTT too with the exact same words you spoke into the phone–in usually less than 3 minutes.
Setting up Jott
Setting up Jott is a breeze. Once you have an account, all you need to do is give them your phone number so they know who you are when you call. You can also add your contacts (and groups of contacts) so Jott can send your messages to your friends, family, and business associates. That's it. Call Jott tell them who you want to Jott, speak your mind, and wait for the email.
Not just emails
One of the most powerful aspects of the Jott service is that it has been mashed up with other services. In effect, Jott can be your intake engine for blogging, your to do list, or even shopping. Jott calls these mashups "links." I have links setup with twitter, Remember the Milk, Sandy, and this Typepad blog.
Sandy, a web service that bills itself as a personal assistant is whom I most frequently Jott. Whenever I have a task, birthday, or phone number I want to remember, I Jott it to Sandy and Sandy takes care of the rest.
Some of the other links that Jott has setup include:
- Thirty Boxes (Calendar)
- Google Calender
- Zillow (to check out home prices)
- xpenser (for tracking expenses)
- serveral project management and task lists
How I use Jott
I probably use Jott 5 to 10 times a day. I jott myself whenever I have an idea or a note I want to remember. When I jott something to myself, the transcription is waiting for me in my gmail the next time I check it. I'll then either act on the idea or store it away for future reference.
I've also started to Jott my friends. Although I have been using Jott for about 6 months, I only recently realized that it's a great tool to SMS friends. I'm not very good a texting-I can talk though. So, jott is so much better for me than texting with my fingers.
Future of Jott
I think Jott is absolutely fantastic. Period. I recommend it to anyone who needs a little help remembering things. I do have one major question about Jott though. What is their business model? Today the service is absolutely 100% free. I'm worried, however, that one month, two months, six months down the line they are going to ask me to pay them for something that I've become accustomed to getting for free. It is so useful, but I haven't attached a monetary value to it yet. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. At some point, they are going to have to find ways make money, and I can't think of any other way besides charging their customers…
The scene repeats itself everyday in the boardrooms and workgroups of the world. People are given a vague goal to innovate a product, reengineer a process, or develop something “big.” They may have been given some minimal instructions, but there main goal is to develop some novel approach by 
by Chip Heath and Dan Heath and I ran across a passage that is very relevant to 
