What Does My Xoba Space Look Like?
I recently realized how vital my Xoba Space was when I tested a new feature and wasn’t logged into Xoba. I thought, ‘OK, I’ll go to the app’ and I was logged out. I opened a new tab (as I have the Chrome Extension installed), and Xoba wasn’t there. So I decided to view our analytics dashboard the old-fashioned way. I navigated to Mode, clicked sign-in, clicked on the right dashboard, and FINALLY, I got to the dashboard so I could answer a question I had. I’m wired to open a new tab, and I know exactly where the Xoba Card I need is and where the link to my Mode dashboard is. It was a painful experience having to go back to the ‘old way’.
Now you’re probably saying, ‘Shawn, create a bookmark. Problem solved.’ And you’re right, but like most people, my bookmarks are a mess, and it’s too much trouble for me to clean them up, and they don’t serve the purpose. More on that later.
In my Space, I have Cards for all facets of my workday — from the five things I look at every morning, to key company documents, to active projects, to open blogs, to items that need my attention. Xoba has become my one-stop-shop to organize my work-life and get to all the stuff I need fast. I am simple, so I like how easy it is to get Xoba up and running, organize all of my stuff, and search all of my information in a single view without having to jump through a bunch of hoops.
Honestly, since we built Xoba Cards, I don’t use our Universal Search functionality that much. I created a couple of Configurable Cards to keep track of PRDs and Blog posts, so my need to search is limited. But, when I need to search Google Drive or forget if a document was shared with me in Slack or Google Drive, Xoba is the first place I go. For one, it’s a faster way to search Google Drive, and two, I never have to remember where information is -- I search, and boom, information pops up. The Chrome Extension allows me to quickly search and access information, regardless of where I am in my workflow. I either create a new tab, and Xoba is there, or use our keyboard shortcut Alt+X, and I’m off to the races.
When we released Card Sharing, it was a game-changer for me. When I’m working on a feature or set of content, I keep it all in a Xoba Card. Then, I send the link to the rest of the team (or with our vendors) to review and give me feedback. Card sharing is what I see as the real power over traditional bookmarks. It’s so simple to group this information and share it with the team. They’re big fans because it’s clear what is relevant, and they can add it to their own Space to reference later -- no more digging for the information. For me, it’s better than putting everything into a Confluence or Notion page because most of the work is dynamic, and I see those applications as more permanent.
I know people may think I am boasting about Xoba because I am on the team that helped build it, but it has genuinely solved a problem I had while I was a Product Manager. I was constantly looking for an easy way to find stuff across all of my applications and group the information in a more dynamic way. Xoba not only would have solved those pain points for me as a Product Manager, but they help me today in my current role.
Xoba is light-weight, flexible, and simple to get started. I encourage anyone looking for a better way to organize their information more dynamically, share information, and find information across all their applications to give Xoba a try. It’s free, so what’s the harm in trying?
If you have any questions or feedback, please email me directly at srazek@xobalabs.com.
