Just in case you haven't heard, we now live in a global village. I always think that sounds a lot more exotic than what my life looks like, but I must admit that with clients and associates across the continent, and projects as far away as South Africa, this does seem to ring true. All this distance can make the collaboration and approval process a little tricky if you're not using some of the web's nifty tools to facilitate sharing. In the spirit of sharing, let me tell you about the following tools (most of which are free or modestly priced) that make working in our global village a whole lot easier...

Dropbox - Ever tried sending huge image, audio, or video files via email? Yes, that's fun in a bucket. Ditch the bucket and try Dropbox. It's a super easy way to sync and share files and even store them online. I use this regularly to receive video files for client projects - indispensable!

Wistia - Another cool app that facilitates the sharing of video files but this one also allows for editing collaboration and even tracks viewer activity. I've used this a couple of times with great results and I know a few videographers that adore it. I trust them and so should you.

Skitch - Screen capture and image sharing made easy. Skitch allows you to capture the screen shot, make notes on it wherever you want, save it, and send it via email to anyone you like (or don't like, as the case may be). It saves a lot of tedious page description and explanation and is also useful for documentation of dynamic stats and search engine rankings. Trust me.

Bounce - We all have an opinion and those of us who create the copy, layout, graphics, or functionality of a website have no problem sharing our views on existing websites. Bounce lets us critique our little hearts out and share our constructive criticism with each other as well as allowing us to easily illustrate do's and don'ts to clients.

Notable - I kind of think of Notable as a mashup of Bounce and Skitch. This is the king of apps for web design teams as it provides for commenting on all aspects of a site, including code. It also is iPhone friendly...cue the angels singing...yeah, I knew that would get you.

Recurse - If you don't spend your life building websites, it can be hard to picture the finished product when your web designer is showing you mockups. Recurse is an elegant application that presents your static page images in such a way that clients can more easily understand the workflow, tiers of navigation, and eventual look and feel of the site. Approvals made easier!

Tom's Planner - I will never forget having to create an elaborate Gantt chart in university. Let's just say that I am Excel challenged and leave it at that. Tom's Planner is my dream come true - the perfect project management tool that creates gorgeous timelines and charts that can be shared, adjusted, and saved in just about every way you can imagine. Tom, you are my hero.

Freshbooks - Are you tired of hearing me wax poetic about Freshbooks? Too bad. They consistently win a spot in my "must have apps" lists. Unlike the others in this post, Freshbooks isn't about sharing graphics, videos. or timelines. Nope, this is all about the $$$. Time tracking by project and task makes billable teamwork a breeze, and when it's time to bill the client, the information is all there and can be prepared for the client's viewing at the touch of a button. Love, love, love Freshbooks.