Survive Daylight Savings With These Tech Tools
- Only 74 More Clocks to Change
Sometime long ago, a group of government officials decided they would mess with people’s natural sleeping patterns and throw them off for weeks by telling everyone in most of the United States (except for people who live in Arizona and Hawaii) that suddenly in the middle of fall (used to be the last week in October, but it’s now the first week in November), the overworked citizens would be given an extra hour to sleep, or use however they would like. But it isn’t a real gift, it is more of a loaner, because five months later (used to be in March but is now in April), that hour will be taken back, and the fine citizens of 48 states and a few US Territories will once again be out of whack!
Not only do we walk around for weeks completely off kilter, but the day after this magical time change takes place, people have to go around their homes searching for every clock they own to either make it fall back or spring forward, thus wasting the very hour they were just given.
So as you begin to take inventory of all your time pieces this week, I decided I would share some fun apps and tips to either save you time, or fill the time you will have after missing your flights and appointments. Perhaps you should just throw all clocks away and start your own time zone! I’d love to hear about the apps and tools you are using to save (or make up lost) time.
- Glympse (available on Android, Blackberry, iOS, Windows7) This app is for those of us who will be at least an hour late for every appointment because we set our clocks back an hour after our spouses had already set them. Open the app and send a link via email or text message to the person you are meeting with and let them track you on the map. It’s like watching Santa fly over Kansas on his way to your house via NORAD tracking. Very cool.
- GateGuru (available on both Android and iOS) This app will save you time while traveling especially when you have that one hour layover and need to find a quick bite to eat but you are hankerin’ for a Quizno’s sub. Open up Gate Guru and the GPS will show you what exactly is available in that concourse and it includes reviews by other travelers!
- AutoPark (on iOS only) This is the app that will save you time and money. As you walk around for the next few weeks not paying attention to where you are parking your car, AutoPark will help you find your parked car, tell you how much time is left on your parking meter, and will show you nearby services such as banks, car-washes, parking lots and more!
- Banking Apps (Wells Fargo; Chase; BofA and more) This is not our grandma’s Savings and Loan anymore! We can save loads of time by taking our tasks on the road and it is safe. Most banks today have mobile banking features that allow you to pay bills, transfer money and even find nearby ATMs all with your mobile device, and now we are seeing apps for many banks that are taking it further allowing you to even deposit your checks by taking a picture of the check with your phone! WOW- you can get your banking done and go back to bed for another hour!
So as you FALL BACK on November 6th, be aware that you will probably spend the next few weeks recovering from the confusion that comes from not knowing if you really gain an hour or if you have you spent more time telling yourself “It’s really 5 o’clock right now, not 6.” Remember when people tell you that time is your enemy, you can tell them that fortunately technology is your friend and together you have made peace with daylight and night time. They won’t understand what you are talking about and you can just walk away…saving MORE TIME!
The Time Challenged, Gina Schreck
To help you see what CLEAR is all about, they are offering my readers a special 3-month FREE trial! Don’t settle for just one extra hour this Daylight Savings. No need to deal with unpredictable security lines, the stress of rushing to your gate, or the time you waste getting to DEN extra early. Click here to get your pass and try CLEAR’s enhanced travel experience for yourself. Just enter my code (CMNDST09) in the promo code field on the payment page.
When Artificial Intelligence Gets a Personality You Fall In Love With IRIS
My Robot Brings Me Shoes!
iPhone users have been talking about their new personal assistant, SIRI, and I have to admit, I was intrigued and a bit envious. I want a robot assistant to bring me coffee, shoes and make my flight arrangements! And then Friday night I learned about IRIS.
Since the Android platform already has several voice recognition and search apps, a brilliant group of developers over at Dexetra took on a challenge to create SIRIS’s twin (IRIS is SIRI spelled backwards). They wanted to see if they could create an app that would take voice recognition, search, a pinch of personality, and roll it into an Android personal assistant! Like Frankenstein, IRIS was born in 8 hours!
So she may not always answer your questions correctly, even though she understands you perfectly, and at times she just downright refuses to tell you the answer, IRIS will make you laugh until you have to ask her where the nearest restroom is. Here is a bit of the dialog my husband and I had in our house with IRIS this weekend:
Gina: How far is the sun from the earth?
IRIS: A long way
Gina: How far Iris?
IRIS: 93 million miles
Gina: Name the Planets in order from the sun.
IRIS: No
Gina: What are the planets in our solar system?
IRIS: Earth, Venus, Jupiter, etc.
Gina: What shall we have for dinner
IRIS: Turkey or Pork
Kirk: Who’s playing in the world series?
IRIS: Im from the planet Pluto
Kirk: Who is Gina Schreck?
IRIS: My cat
Gina: Are you always sarcastic IRIS?
IRIS: Are you always obnoxious?
Kirk: Is it time to get out of bed Iris?
IRIS: Not yet, it is stil early
Gina: Should we go to church?
IRIS: Yes
Gina: What are you wearing IRIS?
IRIS: Did you seriously just go from religion to hitting on me?
So if you want to download an app that helps you find the nearest grocery store when you are in a new city, IRIS may not be very helpful, but if you want a good time…. CALL IRIS!
Chief Hooligan at SynapseConnecting
Gina Schreck is the President and Chief Hooligan at SynapseConnecting. Follow her on Twitter, Facebook or check out our Gettin’ Geeky Page for lots of fun and geeky apps, tips!
Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di
@GinaSchreck
10 Tech Tools to Be More Productive (and Maintain Sanity)
Armed with laptops, tablets, smart phones and 5 hour energy drinks, we should be able to complete that 4 hour work week that Timothy Ferriss says is possible. With social sites to update, apps to learn how to use and our actual job duties to complete, we just need a few more of those 5 hour energy drinks and 10 times what Timmy estimates, to get it all done!
Avoid Overload
I spend more time playing with and checking out apps than the average person and I’m sure I spend more time on social media sites than most as well, but that is our business. But if you have been feeling that technology, and especially social media sites, have invaded our lives like a swarm of locust coming in to eat our crops of time and productivity, you are not alone. Even I get that urge to take out my bug spray and start crop dusting for locust.
Over the past few years, I have come to rely on a few tools that save me time and make packing a 60 hour work week into at least a 39 hour bag a little more doable. So here are the top 10 tools I feel will help you save time:
Smart Phone
This seems like a no-brainer, but there are still quite a few people who have not seen the value in switching to a smart phone. Having a phone that can access email, edit and send documents, take pictures, respond to questions on your social sites, post content as you see it to your social sites, and more, will save you from having to wait until you can get back to your computer to “get work done.”
iPad (or any other tablet for that matter)
We’ve heard the legends of the magical device that shoots out cotton candy rainbows (also known as the iPad), but once you start using it for more than a giant iPod to play music, you will discover that magic land for yourself. Working mobile is now really possible when you have a device that allows you to check and respond to email, create and edit documents, including presentations and smart looking charts, make reservations for dinner without picking up a phone, join a Skype meeting with co-workers and update your social profiles with the touch of a screen….Can you say Magical Unicorns? Now when you are sitting for 15 minutes waiting for your lunch appointment to arrive, you can be productive. When you have that 30 minutes before your son gets out of football practice, you can get a chunk of work finished. Slip it into your carry-on and pound out work on the plane, train or bus. I believe these power tools are worth shelling out the $500-$600
Zite for iPad (Flipboard is another similar app)
We used to sift through newspapers and trade journals to search for relevant information and even clip articles to send to clients, prospects and friends. Today you can have better, more focused content sent to you daily (on your magical tablet) and even send articles to those clients and prospects with a touch of a screen. Zite and Flipboard are two such apps that I can’t live without. Each morning, I open to find custom information that is pulled from blogs, websites, social sites. I can read it, share it, tell the app whether or not I want more of that same type of content or even more articles from that particular writer. The app will update the content throughout the day so your virtual newspaper continues to feed you information as you desire.
WordPress app
It took me awhile before I actually started using this app and now I am getting great value from it. This app (available on Android, iPhone, iPad and even Blackberry) will allow you to blog on the go or even start a draft post when the idea strikes. It’s wonderful!
Instapaper
I am surprised how many people still have not heard of Instapaper, but this is like having a folder filled with clippings to read when you have those in-between moments. Install this app on your PC, laptop, and mobile devices, and then when you find a blog post that you want to read later, you simply click “READ LATER” in your browser or SAVE TO INSTAPAPER on your mobile devices. Now when you have that 10 minutes of waiting time, simply open up your Instapaper app and read your “clippings.”
Dropbox
A favorite time saver for so many reasons. When you are working with several clients and want to simplify how you share and transport documents, graphics, and more, Dropbox is a must. We create a Dropbox folder for each client and then the community manager that works on that account has access to the folder as well as the client. Photos and articles can be dropped in the
Google Docs
Between Dropbox and Google Docs, the days of emailing “proposal version 1.7″ “proposal version 1.8″ back and forth are over. I have several people that I work with regularly but on different projects. Using Google Docs allows us to maintain one document that can be updated (even together at the same time seeing each other add or change information) and shared instantly. BIG time savings!
Hootsuite (or TweetDeck)
With content to post, read and respond to on LinkedIn, Twitter & Facebook, these tools are essential for saving time and staying on top of all of your social activities. They both have similar features but Hootsuite allows teams that manage social media to collaborate and share duties. Using the “schedule posts” features on either of these, you can plan ahead with many of your posts and then sprinkle in the spontaneous.
Evernote
This time saving app is like carrying around a trunk to throw everything in for your business. Snap a photo of a sign that you want to incorporate into your blog and save it in your Evernote Blog Notebook. Have an idea hit you while your stuck behind the train? Record an audio message and save it to an Evernote notebook. Add documents, graphics and even the kitchen sink…or a picture of the one you like. Unpack WHAT you want WHEN you want it…WHEREVER you are. This amazing tool is available on your desktop, iPhone/iPad, Android and Blackberry!
ManyMoon is a wonderful project management tool whether you work alone and need those daily reminders of what needs to be completed to stay on task with your projects, or you work on a team and need to keep tabs on who has finished what. This was part of Google’s lab tools and integrates well with all Google tools, calendar, docs and more. (Not just for Google calendar either). The fact that it is free makes it even more desirable!
Well these are my favorite apps and tools to stay organized and on task. I’d love to know what your favorites are.
App Fanatic
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di
@GinaSchreck
The Magic Continues: My Top 10 iPad Apps in 2010
This past June, after owning my iPad for only a couple months, I wasn’t sure if it was really worth all the hype. I did an early review of my “magical” device on a Gettin’ Geeky show, saying it really was not going to keep me from toting my laptop around. I mean it was really just an oversized iPod, and while it made it much easier on my eyes to find songs or tweet from the beautifully large screen, it didn’t fit in my back pocket or purse…well okay, it did fit in a couple of my humongoid bags.
But it has been 10 months of living with my “magical” device, and while the unicorns and cotton candy only come a few times a week, I have found that I rarely leave home without my iPad.
Why the change in heart? It’s all about the apps. I have almost a hundred different apps loaded on my iPad and have had several others come and go after testing them. Keep in mind when purchasing an iPad that apps range from FREE to $30 so budget another $50-$100 for apps to really make the magic happen. I have also learned a few things along the way, like we shouldn’t have been naïve to think we didn’t need the 3G service. You don’t always have wifi available and too many of the “magical” features require connectivity. (That new iPad is scheduled to come out early 2011!) So here is a run down of my top 10 FAVORITE apps and why I think YOU need them:
Gina's iPad Page One
- Flipboard has not only been MY favorite, but the favorite of millions (Apple named Flipboard app of the year). Flipboard turns your social media favorites into a personalized magazine. Pulling from Twitter, Facebook and even some specialty feeds from Flip such as FlipTech or FlipDesign. I love “flipping” through the pages like reading a real magazine. (This app is FREE and I feel guilty since it is so wonderful!)
- Osfoora is the Twitter app that I have found to do everything I want it to do all while looking great. ($3.99 but so good it’s worth it)
- Pandora is the must have music app to bring your custom radio stations with you anywhere. (FREE for the version with commercials or you can pay $36 per year for commercial-free higher quality audio)
- Instapaper is the app that saved my computers. I typically have 28 tabs open on my browser because there are so many links that I click on and want to read but don’t have time at that moment. Now with Instapaper you can clip and save part or all of an article and it saves it in an online folder to read when you have time…from any device. ($4.99 instead of a new laptop…worth every penny)
- Evernote is the must have app for all projects you are juggling. Take some notes, load some photos, even record an audio file to throw into your Evernote project file. (A wonderful app for FREE)
Gina's iPad Apps Page Two
- SoundNote was an amazing discovery just as I was about to plunk down a hundred dollars for a Livescribe pen. This great app lets you record audio as you type notes or write with a stylus. Later you can simply play back the audio. ($4.99 and worth at least twice as much!)
- Night Stand is a great travel companion and all around great alarm clock. Not only does it display some beautiful clocks, but you can wake to birds chirping, glass breaking, or a woman screaming…and who wouldn’t want to wake to that soothing sound? (There is a FREE limited version or the full version for $1.99)
- WhiteNoisePro is a wonderful app for those who have a hard time falling asleep or just love the soothing white noise of waterfalls, crickets, chimes, or a selection of 40 other sounds that you customize to lull the stress away. (Well worth the $2.99)
- Jibbigo is the perfect travel companion to help you translate what that cab driver just said or to tell the hotel concierge that you are wanting to visit the pickle museum that is down town. You type or speak a statement and it will first translate in text and then in voice. (Not a cheap app at $25)
- Epicurious is a wonderful online cookbook with special features that build your shopping list and save your favorite recipes for that repeat performance. This app can get any geek cooking! (FREE! You can upgrade within the app for $1.99 which builds your recipe box in the cloud to access from any device)
I didn’t list any of the great games (Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Word Worm, and Doodle Jump have been some of the favorites in our house) or the fantastic photography and music apps. I may have to just do a post on each genre to start to scratch the surface.
So what will 2011 bring for the iPad aside from competition in the tablet market? More great apps for sure. If I left off your favorite, tell us about it here in the comments. After all, I need a few more. It’s been at least 24-hours since I downloaded a batch!
We help organizations use today’s technology to build their business. If we can help you be sure to give us a hollar! Follow us and post your questions and tips on our Gettin’ Geeky Page.
Happy Geeky New Year!
~Gina
Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di
@GinaSchreck
Tech Trends for 2010: What Had Us All Talkin’?
In the world of social media and technology this year, there were many tools that stood out, or commanded lots of our attention, but we took on the top 5 that we felt really impacted business or had many of us trying to figure out how to be more strategic and effective with them.
Donna Gilliland, of MOST Training, and I managed to keep our chat under an hour. (Hard to do if you know either one of us) We broke it down into 5 segments with each under 10 minutes.
TREND 1: MOBILE FOR BUSINESS
Sometimes referred to as the THIRD SCREEN, our mobile phones, and now tablets and other mobile devices, have made it easier than ever to work from ANYWHERE.
TREND 2: FACEBOOK FOR BUSINESS
Facebook made headlines, it seems like, every day! From ever-changing privacy settings, to the movie, The Social Network, Facebook became more than simply a virtual high-school reunion. From the annoying Farmville gamers to every news station and retail store telling us to connect with them on Facebook. We end the year with a move that just may be the end of email as we know it.
TREND 3: CLOUD COMPUTING FOR SMALL BIZ
While most people still do not know what this term actually means, cloud computing and the apps that many of us use without realizing they are cloud based, have begun to change the way we do business. From storing our photos and slideshows, to sharing and collaborating on documents in the cloud, these tools are saving us time, money and lots of frustration.
TREND 4: VIDEO FOR BUSINESS
The pocket video camera and the 5-year-anniversary of the launch of YouTube have changed the way we search for and share information. We no longer need expensive video production crews to create and share content. This trend is great for business!
Trend 5: iPADS, READERS and TABLETS
2010 was truly the year of the iPad, but overall, the readers & tablets have changed the way, and the frequency in which we consume content. Business is being done on the go and consumers want content they can take with them with ease. We will continue to see these “Magical” devices appear in our work environments for years to come!
What do you think were the top tech trends of 2010? What did we leave out or put in that you don’t agree with? Share your thoughts and predictions with us! Did you notice that the word “Twitter” was not mentioned? It’s still going strong and growing faster than ever, but nothing of great note happened in Twitter Town in 2010 (In my not-so-humble-opinion!).
Gina Schreck
Gina Schreck
Gina is a Social Media and Technology FREAK! Her and the team at SynapseConnecting can help you make sense of today’s technology and use it to build your business and manage your brand! Give us a hollar if we can help- 877-978-0887 or of course on Twitter @GinaSchreck
Gina Schreck
President & Chief Hooligan at Synapse 3Di
@GinaSchreck
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