One of the things I love most about the Internet is the easy by which I can stay in touch with my friends and family. Not only email, mind you...also via IM, discussion groups and the like. Think about it - I have a central command center where I tap into my kids' teachers, my colleagues online, my family scattered about the country, etc.

Sounds intriguing? It should! So let's tackle:

Before You Begin - What You'll Need...

I want you to stop right now and take a couple of notes. Take a piece of paper and make three columns. Write down the people you'd like to stay in touch with in the first. It could be your folks, your friends, your kids' teachers, your colleagues, the fellow contributors towards a favorite forum, etc.

In the next column, decide in what group you'd like these contacts to be. It could be

• Friends

• Family

• School

• Work

• Election Committee

• Training Forum

etc.etc.etc.

Finally, in the last column, take note of how you'd like to stay in touch. Email? Instant Messenging? Continued forum postings? Write down the method for each person in the second column.

Our stage is set - let's now get to:

Step 1 - Contacting

Let's say that you want to use your favorite instant messenger to stay in touch with the folks on your list.

Open your IM now and take note of your user ID (in ICQ, it could be the number at the top of the window, in others, it would be your text handle/nickname).

Look over all your groupings within the second column. Go to your Instant Messsenger and create those groups if they do not exist like so:

• Yahoo IM - Click on Contacts | Organize Contact List

• AOL IM - Click on My AIM | Setup Buddy List

• MSN IM - Click on Contacts | Add A Contact

• ICQ - Click on Main | Contact List Options | Contact List Groups (and then right-click within the window pain

Now you're reading for:

Step 2 - Contact Each Person

Either call or send an email to each person on your list, give them your IM contact details, and ask for theirs. When they let you know their username, you can add them to your IM contacts lists. Voila - folks are now at your fingertips!

But you're not done yet - some people on your list you probably would prefer to stay in contact via forum postings or email. Not to fear - in your bookmarks or favorites manager, create a folder named "Associations" or "Campaigns" or (whatever it was you listed), visit them forum you want to remember, and add a bookmark/favorite to that folder you just created. It's a very easy way of keeping track of your online relationships.

Neat, huh?

Step 3 - For More Information

There are other ways to share things online. Check out:

• Yahoo Photos - share your photos online.

• Deviant Art - share artwork online.

• Teachers.net - share lesson plans online.

• Frugal U - share frugality tips online.

• A Hands-On Guide to Staying in Touch - business related.

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