All these usernames and passwords - how do I manage them? The importance of documenting.

If there is one single tip I could give someone who is helping their organization gain a presence on the internet it is to document everything.  Especially when it comes to the services, listing, and usernames/passwords that you create for your organization.

Many people enter these positions as volunteers. But that is no excuse NOT to do your job with the excellence expected if you were on staff.

Here is why.

1. You will reach a point when your memory saturates and you begin to forget.  When you first start out and you are only worrying about a couple things (like FTP settings, Google Docs, etc.) it is easy to go on memory.  But eventually you will lose that ability to remember everything with ease.  So WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. 
2. You may someday be out of the picture.  You may manage these different online presences for your organization for your entire life, or you may be out of that position tomorrow.  You don't know.  It is irresponsible to leave your organization scrambling should your presence disappear for whatever reason.  Set your organization up in a position to continue even if you disappear tomorrow.

Simply start a document, perhaps on a service like Google Docs so it can be shared with a team, and write down all the different logins and passwords, including URL's, for every online feature or service you use.  It can be that simple.  

Also, don't forget to update it! 

Jason Cooper (@cooperjason)

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