So I have information all over the place, and I really want to keep it in a smart way.
For background, here’s how I do things right now:
I use Gmail exclusively. All of my email addresses go to Gmail. I use the web client to read/send email. I’d like to use Mail.app for email management when I’m actually on my Mac, and use the web interface at other times. Problem is, Gmail is POP, but not IMAP, so my Mail.app mailbox and my gmail boxes will get out of sync. Plus, I have a bunch of filters in my Gmail that send messages to labels and then auto-archives them, so those messages won’t get popped down.
Contacts are a mess – I use Plaxo to keep everything updated, which is super cool. The only problem is it doesn’t interface with ANYTHING else that I use. I also have contacts in Gmail (necessary for email composing) and Address Book on my Mac (necessary for Adium, which I use for IM).
What I think I would like to do, ideally, is figure out a way to keep Address Book, Gmail contacts, and Plaxo in sync. I think the Mail/Gmail problem is solveable just by changing some of my filters (getting rid of the “Archive” option, but keep slapping the filters on). I don’t know what to do about the contacts though.
What are you guys doing for contact/email management?