Articles
Long reads, comparisons, guides
Honest pieces about how we built Contact Book, where it fits, and where it doesn't.
Deep dives + explainers
Pain points, definitions, opinions.
What is a personal CRM, really?
Definition + the test that tells you if you need one.
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Why we forget the people who matter most
A short read on the mechanics of relational drift - and the smallest fix that actually works.
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Personal CRM vs sales CRM: a clarification
Why a HubSpot doesn't work for friendships and a Personal CRM doesn't work for deal flow.
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How private is your contact data, really?
What 'cloud-synced' means for your contact list, and how to lock it back down.
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AI agents as relationship copilots: useful, careful, ours
A small product surface that's safe to give an agent, plus the line we don't cross.
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Dunbar's number and the modern network: where the cracks show
What Dunbar's research actually says, what's misremembered, and how it shapes a personal CRM.
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Relationship debt: the silent backlog you didn't know you had
How to spot relational debt and pay it off in five-minute sessions.
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The strength of weak ties: the network that quietly carries you
Why your weak ties matter more than your inner circle - and how to keep them alive without faking it.
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Reconnecting after silence: how to message someone after years
What to write to someone you haven't spoken to in years - and what to skip.
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Family graphs vs genealogy: mapping people you actually talk to
What a relationship-first family map looks like - and where it should stop.
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Your inbox is not a CRM (and why it feels like one)
Why "I'll just search Gmail" stops working - and the thin layer of structure that fixes it.
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Contact Book vs the alternatives
Honest, side-by-side reads.
Contact Book vs Google Contacts: which one keeps relationships warm?
A directory vs a relationship log: where each one shines and where they don't.
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Contact Book vs Monica (Personal CRM): the honest comparison
Monica is mature + open-source; we're newer + sharper. Both are honest options.
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Contact Book vs a Notion CRM template
When the spreadsheet feel cracks, here's what a real personal CRM gives you.
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Contact Book vs Cloze: which one fits a solo professional?
Cloze ingests your inbox; we don't. That's the design choice.
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Contact Book vs Dex: keep-in-touch reminders, two takes
Both nudge you to follow up. The difference is what happens after the nudge.
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Contact Book vs Folk: where the line falls
Folk leans team-shape; we lean personal. Where each one fits cleanly.
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Contact Book vs Airtable: when the spreadsheet stops scaling
Build-it-yourself flexibility vs purpose-built speed. Where each makes sense.
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Contact Book vs Clay (Personal CRM): keeping it simple
Two design-first personal CRMs, two different posture choices.
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Contact Book vs Hippo: relationship-first vs reminder-first
Smaller scope vs broader scope on the same problem.
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Contact Book vs an Obsidian contacts vault
Plain-text vault vs structured tool. Honest about both sides.
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Contact Book vs vibe-coding your own personal CRM
Build vs buy, with the costs everyone forgets to count.
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Contact Book vs Apple Contacts: when the iCloud directory hits its ceiling
Phonebook vs relationship log on the Apple ecosystem.
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Round-ups + best-of guides
Where we'd send a friend.
Best personal CRM for solopreneurs in 2026
Curated picks for one-person businesses that need a memory layer for clients + collaborators.
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Best personal CRM for relationship-builders
For people whose calendar is mostly other people - networkers, hosts, founders, mentors.
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Best apps for staying in touch with friends and family
For the personal side - friends, family, the people who'd notice if you went quiet.
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Best privacy-respecting contact apps in 2026
Curated picks for people who treat their contact list as private data.
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How-to guides
Step-by-step from people who run the product.
How to actually keep in touch with everyone you care about
A repeatable system - five minutes a week, no willpower, lasts for years.
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How to log life events you only hear about once
How to capture the "oh by the way" moments - the ones that decide future conversations.
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How to track gifts so you never repeat yourself
Stop sending the same person the same wine for three Christmases running.
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How to set follow-up reminders that actually fire
If you've abandoned three reminder tools in a row, this is for you.
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How to migrate from Google Contacts to Contact Book
Drop the Google export into our import dialog. Five minutes, no data lost.
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