I have a confession. I’ve started using Microsoft OneNote. And I love it. L-O-V-E. I want to go on dates with it. I want to introduce it to my parents.

OneNote is currently a lifesaver (and potentially an ass-saver) for my most recent project, which, perhaps not coincidentally, is with the software company that created it.  [Full disclosure – check]

I also confess that I’d never considered using it before. But dang, if it isn’t sweet as pie. Basically, it’s a visual filing cabinet and notebook all in one. More convenient than saving emails as files and sticking them in the same My Documents folder with Word docs, spreadsheets, PowerPoint decks, etc.

Want an example? Let’s say (theoretically) you’re working  on executive briefing materials. You could have a page for various other briefing materials, one for case studies, one for tech topic A, another for tech topic B, one for meeting notes, etc.

Supercool alert: you can export a meeting invite from Outlook to OneNote and it automatically sets up a page with all the invite info (including invitees, like the guy you think is named Paul…or Saul…) and space for taking notes, dropping in files, whatever. You can also save e-mails directly to OneNote, which show up all nice and neat and readable – then you can add whatever else you want to the page.

I LOVE IT.

Now, I’m not trying to hype a client’s product – I get paid to do that, and I write this blog for free. I just dig it, like I dig SKYPE, and Google Docs, and my iPhone.

Hold on…

Can I say that?

Is it allowed? Is it wise? Is it…kosher?

But if I can only talk up products from people who help pay my bills, then how authentic can I be? How credible?

But…could I actually get in trouble for writing this blog post? Am I incredibly naive to think that I won’t? If I did, would it be justified? Right? …Kosher?

See, the problem is, I really do heart OneNote. And I really want people who care about communications to know about it, ’cause it’s really freakin’ useful and cool. And I think a lot of Office 2010 is pretty freakin’ useful and cool.

But if I only write about those products, and pretend I don’t have an iPhone (because part of my job is being hip to trends), or keep all my blog/web/Twitter/etc. passwords in a Google docs spreadsheet (because I work on two laptops and it’s the easiest way for me to not lose my mind), then why would you believe that I am a OneNote evangelist by choice?

What drives social media if not ordinary citizens volunteering to be evangelists for products and services they love? Millions are being invested by companies like the one in Redmond to encourage/enable/empower people (approximately) like me  to write blog entries entitled, “I Heart OneNote.”

In fact, a friend  recently attended the WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) “School of WOM” in Chicago. This is serious business, folks.

My conclusion:  I’m going to participate in social media honestly, which is the only way one really can participate in social media.

What do you think?

p.s. Try OneNote. It totally rocks.

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