I have a new toy. It's really an amazing tool that gives my writing more detail, makes me more responsive to the marketing managers and subject-matter experts I work with, and saves me a ton of time. But it's so fun to use that it feels like toy.

It's my Livescribe 4 GB Echo Smartpen. It records audio while I write notes--but the amazing feature is that it synchronizes the audio to the notes. To jump to any point in the audio, I only have to tap my notes with the pen, and I will hear the recording at the time I was writing the note.

In my job, I interview subject-matter experts, and translate their spoken words into professional grade copy. Since many subject-matter experts speak in a stream of consciousness (no matter how organized my interview questions are), I often record these interviews and transcribe them, so I can access the most interesting and informative bits.

Now, no more transcribing. I can draw a star and scribble two words when my interviewee is making his best point. Later, I tap the star and I hear his quote from my pen. I have used my pen to record an interview over Skype and it worked beautifully.

What's more, if I want to share a "pencast," I can upload the audio and written notes (an actual snapshot of my notebook page) to a server and publish them.

If you work from notes like I do, I recommend LiveScribe highly.