From: Steve <gentoo_sjh@shic.co.uk>
To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org
Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Web application for contact management...
Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:22:30 +0100 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <4A363D06.30508@shic.co.uk> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <c30988c30906141529y478d570ai428accf454535735@mail.gmail.com>
Mick wrote:
> Have a look at sugar-crm, or any other CRM application. Of course a
> corporate database to manage customer info may be an overkill, but
> that's what you're describing, if only at a personal rather than
> corporate level.
>
I agree with both of these observations. I didn't get very far looking
at Sugar-CRM last time I thought about this problem... I found it rather
too cumbersome and seemed to make too many assumptions about the sort of
relationships I had with my contacts. For example integrated invoicing
or marketing would be inappropriate for my purposes. I'm trying to
manage diverse quasi-personal relationships - essentially I'm looking
for a tool to help me with 'social networking' in the real world...
where my biggest enemy is forgetting details about people I might only
speak to annually - or less often.
> If running mysql, or postgresql is too much, check out the address
> book features of most mail clients - they usually have space for
> notes. You can write in there all trivia and non-trivia for each
> contact. I am using kmail and its address book also has custom fields
> that you can create as you need them. An address book search will
> pick up words from within any notes and custom fields too. That
> should hopefully do what you need.
>
Running a DB is no hassle - I already run both MySQL and Postgres...
Various unrelated requirements leave me with Windows on my desktop at
the moment - so kmail isn't an ideal tool for me... I've fiddled with
Thunderbird's address book but I found it rather lacking with respect to
annotating contacts... it has a lack-lustre search... and it isn't
client server - making it klunky if I intend to access the same data
from my windows desktop; ubuntu netbook and Symbian internet-enabled
mobile phone. I like the idea that a contacts management package should
allow me to initiate contact - so integration with email programs -
using LDAP, perhaps - would be desirable... though not necessarily
essential.
Joshua Murphy wrote:
> Well, most tools that handle that functionality I know of are full
> fledged CRMs, which are overkill for what you're after. You might take
> a look at Simple Customer though, PHP & MySQL, and seems to take a
> less 'enterprise' centric approach.
>
> http://www.simplecustomer.com/
>
> No idea if it's any good, though.
This is definitely looking as if it is heading in the right direction.
Features I hoped I would find, but seem to be missing are:
* Tagging of contacts - something a bit like a taxonomy in Drupal....
So, for example, I could tag Fred Bloggs as having UK residency;
Occupation: Plumber - etc. and so that I could, at a later date search
my contacts for a UK resident Plumber. (OK, it's a contrived example,
but, hopefully, it illustrates the idea.)
* Flexible search for contacts... perhaps by name, perhaps by email
address; perhaps just search notes.
* Good support for multiple communications technologies... including
non-US addresses; skype - etc. :)
* Good support for ageing data on a field-by-field basis... by this I
mean that it is relevant, for example, when addresses were established,
because people move home...
Many thanks for the suggestions so far - they've, at the very least,
helped me refine my ideas about what I want...
Steve
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2009-06-15 12:22 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 10+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2009-06-14 20:30 [gentoo-user] Web application for contact management Steve
2009-06-14 22:04 ` Mick
2009-06-14 22:29 ` Joshua Murphy
2009-06-15 12:22 ` Steve [this message]
2009-06-15 22:08 ` Mick
2009-06-16 12:09 ` Steve
2009-06-16 13:27 ` Steve
2009-06-16 18:39 ` Mick
2009-06-19 9:58 ` Steve
2009-06-19 10:32 ` Steve
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