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For those of us that follow the startup technology world, we are constantly exposed to new applications that are getting funding.  Much of the time however, I read Techcrunch or GigaOm or KillerStartups and hear about certain services once, perhaps visiting the websites and even trying out the products, but very few of these services actually stick around in my ‘toolbox’.  Some do however, and here are some examples:

Evernote – This service is a great alternative to bookmarking, and serves as your ‘web notebook’.  Have you ever been on a website and seen something that you want to remember?  Some great reading perhaps, or something that you want to buy later?  Anything really, pictures or text – simply highlight the section, and either click the Evernote bookmark or the toolbar menu.  You can then open the desktop app or their web app and view your notes.  I find this invaluable, especially as bookmarks get too numerous.

Simple Spark – Ok, this search engine is the way you find new services that you might not otherwise be able to find even with Google or Yahoo search.  Simple Spark is the search engine for web applications.  For example, a simple search for “Real Estate” generates tons of web apps that you never would have even known existed.  I’ve used this service to find countless apps that are interesting and useful.

Google Groups – First of all, I’m a Google user – at least for Email, Maps and Search, I don’t sway too far from the big G.  Google’s newly refurbished ‘Groups’ application is something that I’ve just recently been re-exposed to.  The first thing I noticed is that they’ve really tried to make this a project management platform, akin to 37 Signals’ Basecamp.  You can have discussions, upload files (only 100 MB though it appears) and create pages within your group.  Groups is perfect for getting a bunch of friends together and taking a canoe trip, forming a potluck club or managing a ski cabin.

Using the rest of Google’s tools, you can easily create text documents or spreadsheets with Google Docs, which progresses Google’s rounding out of their enterprise productivity software offering.  Now they just need to package it and market it the right way and companies might just start using the tools in house.  As the tools are free however, they need to be clever about integrating their advertising platform into their productivity software in order to create revenue streams…this will prove more difficult.

Keybr – Need typing practice?  If you’re one of the many of us who “hunt and peck”, visit Keybr.  I realized a while back that I could type a hell of a lot faster if I simply didn’t look at my hands when I typed.  A few hours practice at Keybr and I was a new man.  I especially like the way that Keybr makes you spell out nonsense words – it really trains your fingers to the keyboard, not to specific words that you frequently type.  They also keep score for you, so you can try to beat your personal best or compete against your friends.  Typing competition!  Sweet!

Vimeo – Forget YouTube, use Vimeo instead. This IAC (Ask.com, LendingTree, CollegeHumor, etc…) owned video site rocks with its GREAT video quality (HD in many cases), awesome content and a streamlined design. Vimeo appears to be the spot where aspiring filmmakers go to post their content. Plus, there’s awesome music video content here. Here’s one that the Vimeo staff picked:

The Archive from Sean Dunne on Vimeo.