Free Software Every (PR) Student Should Have
The financially strapped student has existed probably as long as our education system has. Personally, being poor builds character and can set the stage for a strong work ethic. That being said, being poor also sucks and anything to help the cause is good in my book.
The greatest disadvantage of being poor, especially in the PR field, is a lack being able to afford the technology which is important to your professional future. The good news is your finances, or lack thereof, shouldn’t stop you from having the basic tools you need to be productive. Below is a list of tools I think every PR student should have. Best of all, they are all free.
File the following under cloud computing. It won’t stress your hard drive and if you go this route you can grab yourself a smaller computer which, brand new, will only set you back a few hundred bucks. Hang out on campus and soak up all the free internet service provided and you have a fully functioning system.
Google Docs will give you everything you need to make it through four years of college. Document (word), Form (access), Spreadsheet (excel) and Presentation (PowerPoint) are all offered with all the traditional functions you need. Best of all, Google even gives you space to store your documents so if your computer crashes, which apparently happens a lot when final projects are due, you won’t loose everything. (registration required)
Photo storage – Flickr is the name of the game (registration required)
Video – Youtube, Vimeo and other online video sites will take on those ginormous files you really don’t want to keep on your hard drive and let your friends and family, if appropriate, see your hard work. (registration required)
Email – Gmail is the name of the game and if you haven’t been there in a while, it is a whole new ball of wax.
We are leaving the clouds and what follows is software which must be loaded onto your computer. All of it is still free and free, my friends, is good.
If you really don’t like Google (what is wrong with you, Google has changed my life!) for your email then try Thunderbird as an alternative to outlook. Made by the people who brought you Firefox (an alternative to Explorer) it has the same functionality as Outlook and Outlook express with so much more.
Open Office – want the same products as Microsoft Office and don’t trust Google, download Open Office and get to work.
Gantt Project Management or Open Project – Project management is key to any successful PR campaign. If you aren’t using this, start. It takes a bit to wrap your arms around it so don’t wait until the night before your project is due. As a side, I don’t see this often taught at the college level but used often at most successful PR Firms. Set yourself apart from your doppelganger and use this when appropriate.
pdf Creator – need I say more.
Avidemux will take care of our basic video editing needs although if you are using Windows Vista or Mac OS you should already have software for basic editing.
While we are on the subject of open source (free) software, be sure to check out Sourceforge.net Click on the “Find Software” button and check out all the categories.
Obviously there are tons of tools out there - tweetdeck, igoogle, etc. which are important to PR pros and I may discuss those later but the above are essential to every day life, especially those starving students!
Now take a break and visit Win Chess to play a game of chess. Even if you don’t know how to play, you will look smart with it on your screen. And, as I learned yesterday, smart people are hot.
Have a suggestion, post it in the comments below and I will add it to the list.
Update – Here is a list, with links to the additions listed in the comments. I will update this post as additional suggestions are received.
Pandora – For your up all night music enjoyment. Don’t forget to register!
Last.fm – same as above but some would argue better. Much more social in nature.
Mozy – auto backup. A reminder to also have some kind of backup for your email, even gmail. Outlook, Thunderbird (listed above) are good sources and will allow you to work offline. As a side, gmail now allows you to work offline but you must download gears and back it up to your hard drive.
Windows Live – Like igoogle but with Microsoft/Windows
Sugar Sync – sync multiple computers, phones, etc. Note, not free after 45 days.
Flash drive – very inexpensive and can be pasword protected. Keep your most important files, the ones you don’t ever want to be without.
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Comments
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this is the best post of yours I’ve ever read — insightful and useful. I think it also applies to all of us, inevitably poor, recent graduates. Personally, I’m stoked about getting my hands on these project management tools you speak of. So, thank you.
The only thing I’d add is a solution to the music needs of those dreaded all nighters. The solution, of course, is either Pandora or Last.fm. I prefer the later.
Great list. All of these are very useful tools.
A few additions and notes:
Online file backup, preferably automatic:
1) Mozy – free 2 GB of automatic backup (no one wants to lose their term paper the day before it’s due.. unless the paper really sucks.) Backup all docs, photos, etc.
2) SugarSync – free 45 day trial of 10 GB, automatically syncs multiple PCs, handheld devices, etc. You can access your files on an iPhone, Blackberry, etc. Not free after 45 days, but still pretty sweet. Also includes online photo galleries, file management (with an online editor, etc.).
3) Google Docs (mentioned above)- good for group projects to edit files simultaneously, but I really prefer my files primarily offline (Yes, even Google can– and has– had outages.) Picasa is a decent free photo backup.
4) Windows Live– Windows Live Photo Gallery offers free photo backup of 500 photos per month. They also have SkyDrive to backup online documents. And, their latest efforts are an online “version” of Windows– sort of.
Offline back up–
Sometimes the internet fails. Backup your crap online, such as with the free Mozy, but also have some sort of local back up (CD, external hard drive, flash drive, etc.). I’ve had cloud computing files become either corrupt, inaccessible, or lost due to provider outages. Not that often, but happens– better to be over-prepared.
Offline E-mail Backup-
1) Thunderbird, Outlook, etc.– it’s always good to keep a local backup of your e-mail. Though rare, even Gmail account s have been permanently and completely lost. Losing years of e-mail blows.
Portable offline apps–
1) Sometimes you’re stranded without internet (or, at least, fast internet). Portable flash drive apps are handy. There are some that are word processors (including portable Open Office), some for web development (NVU software, a handy skill to have), some for basic image editing (GIMP). PortableApps .com and others are great resources. While you’re at it, back up some of your main files on a flash drive. You can even run a small operating system from your flash drive (DSL, Damn Small Linux) or “take your home desktop with you” with MojoPac (free trial, not sure if the full version is free anymore. This helps to run your applications in protected computer labs, etc. that don’t allow local installs).
2) If your line of work is in crisis communications or event planning, consider keeping a list of “crisis messages” on your (password protected) flash drive. That way, if you have to cancel an event, class, or some dire tragedy ensues, you have messaging that is already approved by your boss(es) that can be immediately sent to the media.
perhaps it was mentioned and i missed it.. Skype. For video conference and multiple line conference calls for free.
[...] and have found other useful programs, let me know. In the meantime, here’s a link to Handy’s list of free [...]
[...] been covered by my professor, Bill Handy. To save all of us from needless rambling, read what Bill has to say about various free resources that each of us should check out and [...]
[...] can read the original post here so I will forgo my lesson on the value of being poor and get right to the point. Below is a list [...]
Twitter Comment
RT @billhandy Just in case students missed my tweet – Free Tools Every (PR) Student Should Have [link to post]
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