I will admit something: I was a big fan of the ill-fated Google Wave. It was a great way for teams to collaborate on documents and deliverables. It kept track of the evolving conversation right alongside of the deliverable. If someone came into the project after it had already started, you could send him back to the beginning of the Wave, and he should be up to speed by the time he got to the end of it.

To me, this was a collaboration tool that actually offered project managers something new. Sadly, Google quietly pulled the plug on it shortly after it was launched. Now a new tool called Co-meeting is trying to pick up where Wave left off, and they have an interesting take on the process of collaboration. It has a more real time feel to it than Wave did, and I like the fact that it can import your old Google Waves. If you leave a Co-meeting conversation, the next time you come back it will direct you to the point where you left off, which I find particularly useful.

Another tool that I have been using to help me manage projects is Asana. This is a great way of assigning tasks, managing progress against them, and holding people accountable. My favorite thing about Asana is that it preserves the thread of conversation related to tasks so that you can get a quick feel for what has been done to date and where things currently stand.

Both of these are great if you are managing in an environment where everyone doesn’t necessarily have the same software or platform, and both are free for a limited number of users.

If you have a favorite tool to use in collaboration, share it below.