Zimilate: Collect, Organize, and Expand What You Know.
I like Zimilate a lot. I sent them an email and they responded, telling me that they were working toward being freemium. Unfortunately, they aren't really placing a priority on importing, which is one of my criteria. Organization is handled through spheres (folders) that can be kept private (another must have) and they have a web clipper, also a high priority. I'm not interested in sharing, but there is that option. One of my favorite SP alternatives so far, but with no import tool forthcoming for who knows how long, it's not going to be my go-to anytime soon
Memit is up & coming and they really want Springpad users. They have an import tool just for us :) although they cater to ex-Clipboard, Kippt and Delicio.us users also. The interface is somewhat disjointed. All my springs imported just fine but I still can't figure out their system of labeling my stuff of articles, images, bookmarks<--only listed as 26 but all my springs were bookmarks and the vast majority had pictures but only 3 are listed; you get the confusing idea. Putting stuff in collections is much more preferable but it's confusing as to whether your stuff is private or not. Can't add mem to collection from the clipper, nor have i figured out yet how to do it myself afterward. <--update: figured it out, should have been way easier. No Android yet.
I hear Mem It is getting a major overhaul and lots and lots of new features in August so I will revisit then. Mem it is so far right up there in the running for best alternative to Springpad for me thus far. I'd say 3rd
So far, Clipix is turning out to be the top contender (So Far!) The layout of clipboards is similar to SP; you can see all boards at once right off the bat. You can drag a board to another to make a multiboard or collaborate on a Syncboard. Privacy is up to you (I like mine) be as social as you want or don't want. The clipper is surprisingly good for a bookmarklet (which is slightly annoying as i prefer to hide my bookmarks bar). There is an import tool, which worked fine except that it wouldn't grab thumbnails for many sites. You can add your own pic from your computer or rename it with text but you can't link an image to the site (yet). You can edit all your clips, tag them, comment them and there are 3 different views for the boards. You can also drag them to rearrange. This is good and with the option to link a picture to a clip, it will be darn near exactly what i need.
ArgoNote is a beta that I tried the other day. The dev promises an import tool soon but I don't know if ever a web clipper is forthcoming, without which would be pointless for me. In the hopes that one is forthcoming, one makes notebooks that contain notes, which can be simply edited, or the entire template of the note can be changed. Images can only be added from linking. The options for editing note templates makes this a good choice as well as the notebooks, which are extensively searchable. the objective is to be able to make/see changes in realtime. Update: import tool is available, doesn't work consistently (only imported some of my springs) Editing items is also hit or miss..Sometimes pics will not show up or thumbnails won't be imported with import items
Keeeb is good, there is a web clipper but it grabs only the link in screenshot format. Much like SP in layout but there are only 2 views available, and somewhat unorganized view if you have a lot of keeebies. No reordering and you have to select view all pages in order to see all of your organization (rather than by default like SP) always starts in your first folder by alphabet. Import only from zootool and clipboard. I will revisit later as it does have potential
Mammoth is up and coming
Heres the good: Starting you off with:
5 GB free storage
unlimited boards
unlimited contributors
unlimited files
The bad:
web clipper is okay but not great. no import tool, which is a dealbreaker because i'm not redoing everything from my SP. This would be great for starting from scratch tho, very very customization friendly. They claim to be adding features so I will keep an eye on this one.
Diigo is a powerful research tool and a knowledge-sharing community
I've had Diigo for years. It stores my bookmarks and I can annotate them which is also great but the interface is simply horrid. I can't even look at it without wanting to cry. I'm a designer and I work best with visual organization so while I keep it around, I haven't used it in a long time. Do some designing Diigo! But if you prefer a minimalistic approach, then by all means, Diigo is great.
Nimbus comes from the makers of FVD Speeddial extension for web browsers, EverSync. Nimbus can be downloaded or used online. There's supposedly an import tool but I've yet to find it. Nimbus has a screenshot extension and a clipper extension (these are very very good, probably best i've seen), making it pretty darn useful to share things you've clipped. The clips can be extensively edited as well. They seem much more focused on sharing than storing though and no import tool. There doesn't seem to be much collaboration between the Nimbus Note service and the clippers which makes storing more difficult; as i said, they care more about sharing. The help files are practically useless and the link on Nimbus Note's user account page doesn't even work. The UI looks much like Thinkery or Evernote so not as visual an interface as I like. The free version also stores more and allows larger uploads than Evernote.
Grab live snapshots of anything on the internet, organize your collected content into folders and share with friends through SNS.
Wepware is another in development service, only for Chrome users at the moment, so not for me just yet..However, they have a great clipper, organization by folders, real time updates, dragging clipped items together, overlays for comparisons and more. No import tool yet. If they expand their services they could be pretty good.
Thinkery works much like Evernote but they like their hashtags..a lot. Every note can be edited and the user interface is a soft blue. The add bar is combined with the search bar for a one to rule them all approach. Lots of keyboard shortcuts. They have a web clipper and import tool and are really good but since I already have Evernote I don't see the point of changing to Thinkery. If you hate EN and want to ditch it entirely, Thinkery is a great alternative.
I'm currently on the waiting list for this beta. I'll review it when i get to try it :)
Make lists! Pretty similar to Springpad, no import unfortunately. you can add pic or vid to the item you edit, privacy settings, even price and location, comments and custom images from the site or upload your own. No tags :(
Scissorsfly has the coolest web clipper out there. It's great for projects; it's kind of like whiteboards that you can put multiple things on..great for curating content to perhaps present at a meeting? Not quite like Springpad though and it's still got some kinks in it. AWESOME clipper but sometimes I just want to grab the link you know? Page often does not load.
Fetchnotes is basically Twitter, for notes..this is a screenshot of it in action. There is also an import tool for Springpad users. I hate hashtag organization and non-visual interfaces so this is really not for me but you may love it
despite the silly name, dragging and dropping stuff to save is pretty easy. Storage is done in folders but there is no import tool or alternate options for viewing or editing.
Has a web clipper, drag n drop organization, multiple folders..a very odd way of importing bookmarks, by making a text document of all the links, one on each line (but it did work) Only a description to go with, no tags, no notes, no real import tool..apparently commenting and viewing options are only for the Pro version..free version stores 500 MB
Just started with Channelkit last night. So far, it seems pretty good but being in beta, it's got a few rough edges to work out. It took several hours to import my Springs from Springpad but it did it finally. One issue I'm noticing is that there is no way to (as yet) add an image to a link if it failed to fetch it (so far this has only happened from my import, not the clipper) and there is no rearranging of the tiles (although there are 3 views available)..There is no app yet but one can email items in for keeping. Has good potential with the addition of a few things. Sometimes the web clipper just doesn't function. No idea why.
Raindrop.io Finally got around to trying this and it's pretty nice, with a clean interface that uses collections to organize..i tried, in vain, to import my springs but it did take my old (from 2013) bookmarks. On each bookmark, you could enter a descrip and tag(s) but the importer didn't always pull in a pic with no way I could see to manually do it. Some entries you could go right to the source; others, the entire article would pop up within the app (which I liked) Not consistent tho. Very much the same type of experience as Clipix, Channelkit and Zimilate (although those services offer more) The clipper worked just fine. WONDER OF WONDERS, an export tool!!! I've yet to see that on anything else! Ability to add notes, cover images would be helpful.
Questions I was asked about Raindrop.io
- clipper extension is Chrome only so far (that i can see)
- so far, all is free but i saw no info about future premium options
- all collections are private by default
Centrallo is very much like Evernote. Too much in fact for me to recommend it. I'm looking for a more visual interface and while Centrallo is fine for what it does, it has many of the same limitations as Evernote, which is why I rarely log into my EN. So no, this does not meet my requirements. Thank you for the submission though :)
Wasn't sure whether or not to include this but I've had it for a long time and I've probably not been utilizing it to its full potential. Spaaze is an infinite virtual corkboard, add stuff infinitely (no borders) lots of types of things, text, bookmarks, labels, notes, vids, pics and even html. The learning curve is a little steeper than most but you can do so much with Spaaze. Most things are free, some cost a few credits but you get 100 free to start. And the dev even tells you ways to get around 'paying' for pics. This is a screenshot of my actual Spaaze board, the center (default) place you go to..you can make hotspots, click on the hotspot name and zing over to wherever your stuff is...No import tool but there is a bookmarklet. The picture works, just open it in a new tab 
