Hi again!
We are on to Thing #4-Keeping Up! This thing is all about effectively managing all various news sites and blogs you visit via RSS, or really simple syndication. Imagine you visit multiple news sites, blogs and the like each day. RSS tools can be used to bring the latest posts to you all in one location, rather than you having to visit each site each day (or several times a day), to see if there is something new. It puts the information right at your fingertips (or on your phone, as it were), saving you time and energy!
I'll admit that while I'm well aware of RSS and what it does, and have been for several years, I've never used it. Call me old fashioned, call me crazy, but I sort of enjoy waking up, sipping my cup(s) of coffee, and visiting all my favorite sites and blogs each morning.
But alas, 23 Things is not about sticking with what you already know, it is about trying and exploring new things! So, I chose to download Flipboard, an RSS app that is free and available for both Apple and Android.
You must first create an account, then the app lets you choose a few basic topics you'd like to see in your Flipboard newsfeed-news, sports, and the like. Then you are offered some subtopics-if you choose news, you might see subtopics like travel, fashion, food, politics, and more. Once you've selected some options, you see your initial Flipboard, and from there you can add your own favorite sites (social network, news sites, blogs, you name it!).
The main feature of this RSS tool in particular that sets it a bit apart is the creation of what they call "Magazines." You can create a magazine called "Dream Vacations," for example and then add items (articles) to your magazine related to your dream vacations. If you're familiar with Pinterest, its somewhat similar to pinning things to a themed board. You can then flip through the pages of articles you've saved like you would flip through the pages of a magazine.
I used this app to follow both personal and professional sites and blogs. Visually, I like the layout and how organized everything looks. Scrolling through the latest posts on a news site, for example, is easy and enjoyable, but if you want detailed information you have to click to see the full story, which takes you to another page.
In the end, I don't think I'll be using this app (or any like it) very extensively in the future. I'd rather just look at each site one at a time, as I have in the past. RSS feeds just aren't for me. However-there is one exception to that statement: I like the idea of using them at work. Imagine working at a reference desk...sometimes you have a few spare moments. Flipboard would be great to use then, to catch up on the latest professional news, as you can quickly glimpse all the latest headlines, and even make a magazine of things to read up on more fully at a later time. So, perhaps I'll keep my account going, if only for professional information.
Next time I post we'll be on to Thing 5-Notetaking! Stay tuned!
Friday, February 28, 2014
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Thing #3...Utilities!
I'm back after a bit of a reprieve! I got caught up in a stint of working 12 days in a row, and just didn't have the time or energy to think about the 23 Things. Now that that's done, and I've had a few days to recover and get caught up on all the other errands that got set aside, I'm back and we're on to utilities!
Thing three is all about utilities-all the little things you can use your mobile device for to make life that much easier.
The first utility app recommended on the official 23 Things page is a QR code scanner. When I got my first smart phone about four years ago a QR code scanning app was the first thing I downloaded. QR, or quick response, codes were just going mainstream around the time I got my first iPhone, and I was anxious to be in on the trend. While there were initially high hopes for their use (in libraries and in general), it seems their popularity has since dropped off. Still a handy app to have (and there are many free ones to choose from), as I do see QR codes popping up occasionally.
Hands down, my favorite utility app is the flashlight app. It is now a built in feature as of the latest iOS update, but an app version offers some different options like strobe etc should that be of interest. I cannot tell you how often I use the flashlight. Probably every day, whether its to search under the couch for lost dog toys, illuminate the area under a workstation at the library, find an elusive cooking pan in the cabinets-you name it.
I also use the calculator frequently. I'm not a math whiz, so its usually faster and easier for me to just open up my calculator app and do the math in there, rather than trying to work it out in my head or on paper.
I'm not entirely sure that this counts as a utility, but I don't necessarily see a place for it in any of the other 20 things that remain, so we'll cover it here...the Dictionary app! I have the Dictionary.com app and love it. I am a bit strange in that while I have a fairly large vocabulary (kudos to being a reader and taking the GRE for that), I am usually terrible at describing what a word means to someone when asked, even if I know what it means. I don't know why, it has just always been that way. The dictionary.com app gives me concise, easy to look up definitions. It also has a feature that lets you play a proper pronunciation of the word in question. They also do a Word of the Day-usually relatively uncommon words, to help boost your vocabulary. Plus, I use it way more than I would ever use a standard dictionary-whenever I happen upon a new word in a book, when a friend asks what a certain word means, and even during Scrabble and other word games when alternate spellings are questioned.
Those are my favorite utility apps! Stick around as I'll soon be posting about thing 4-Keeping up!
Thing three is all about utilities-all the little things you can use your mobile device for to make life that much easier.
The first utility app recommended on the official 23 Things page is a QR code scanner. When I got my first smart phone about four years ago a QR code scanning app was the first thing I downloaded. QR, or quick response, codes were just going mainstream around the time I got my first iPhone, and I was anxious to be in on the trend. While there were initially high hopes for their use (in libraries and in general), it seems their popularity has since dropped off. Still a handy app to have (and there are many free ones to choose from), as I do see QR codes popping up occasionally.
Hands down, my favorite utility app is the flashlight app. It is now a built in feature as of the latest iOS update, but an app version offers some different options like strobe etc should that be of interest. I cannot tell you how often I use the flashlight. Probably every day, whether its to search under the couch for lost dog toys, illuminate the area under a workstation at the library, find an elusive cooking pan in the cabinets-you name it.
I also use the calculator frequently. I'm not a math whiz, so its usually faster and easier for me to just open up my calculator app and do the math in there, rather than trying to work it out in my head or on paper.
I'm not entirely sure that this counts as a utility, but I don't necessarily see a place for it in any of the other 20 things that remain, so we'll cover it here...the Dictionary app! I have the Dictionary.com app and love it. I am a bit strange in that while I have a fairly large vocabulary (kudos to being a reader and taking the GRE for that), I am usually terrible at describing what a word means to someone when asked, even if I know what it means. I don't know why, it has just always been that way. The dictionary.com app gives me concise, easy to look up definitions. It also has a feature that lets you play a proper pronunciation of the word in question. They also do a Word of the Day-usually relatively uncommon words, to help boost your vocabulary. Plus, I use it way more than I would ever use a standard dictionary-whenever I happen upon a new word in a book, when a friend asks what a certain word means, and even during Scrabble and other word games when alternate spellings are questioned.
Those are my favorite utility apps! Stick around as I'll soon be posting about thing 4-Keeping up!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)