Apps, Making Our Lives A Bit Easier
Apps can do anything – from finding the cheapest gas to telling you what song is playing. Of course, social media apps have only evolved, allowing us to share not 
just statuses, but also vintage looking photos and now videos. Two of the top apps used today for sharing visuals are Instagram and Vine. But will these kinds of apps take off and eventually dominate the social media realm? I think so.
I’m a big Instagram user mostly because I think it’s a cool way to share what’s going on in your life and is a breath of fresh air from reading statuses all the time. I actually just created my Vine account recently, and think it’s great for those who like to make things come to life. I’ve seen some pretty creative stuff on there like mini flipbooks or origami – all animated.
If you haven’t heard of Vine, it’s an app that allows users to record 6-second videos about, well, anything. I’ve seen inanimate objects moving from point a to b and drawings that comes to life. If you’re a public figure, you can also do a “day in the life of ___” to give followers an insight into your life. Vine is currently an age-restricted app, available to those older than 17 years old only. This is due to inappropriate videos found throughout the app. Vine is also currently available only to those on team iPhone.
Other recent apps assist us with everyday tasks like navigating, finding the latest news, or discovering new food spots.
Navigation
Waze is unlike typical GPS programs. Waze is real time traffic information posted by real people. This app will help you avoid traffic backups or accidents that other Waze users have seen or passed by, which is pretty cool in my opinion. I mean, how many times do we get stuck in traffic but we have no idea what’s holding everything up?
Music
My favorite is Shazam, which tells you what music is playing. Gone are those days where you have to Google the lyrics (that probably aren’t even accurate) just to find a song. Also, all of your “Shazammed” songs are stored as “tags” in the app, which is convenient when you’re listening to the radio for example. Other cool music apps are Spotify, which connects to the desktop software and Facebook, and of course, there’s the classic Pandora. Both are great for listening to you like and discovering songs based on what you already like.
Food
Grubhub and Seamless allow you to order food from nearby places AND have them delivered to you. How cool is that? If you want to try something new – Foursquare and Foodspotting are great apps to use for that. Not only will it show you nearby places, it will also provide you with reviews from other users so that you can have an idea of what to expect.
Daily Tasks
If you’re anything like me, you need to write down anything and everything just so that you won’t forget. Most smartphones come with a pre-installed notepad or reminder app, however if you want something a little more personal, Any.do is the way to go. It’s a task based app where you can list all of the things you need to do. They can be as general as “Organize room” or specified like “Pick up clothes from cleaners at 5pm”. Best part is the “Any.do moment” where the app goes through your list and you can change dates or cross them off as finished. Another task many of us do is gas up the car, and in these current times, many of us dread the day. But thanks to GasBuddy, it’s possible to find the cheapest gas around your current location.
With the number of apps growing on a daily basis, it’s impossible to cover them all in just one blog post. However, to give you an idea of what else is out there, you can find apps to help you with daily tasks, schedule or remind you of appointments, customize your news, and even remember where you parked your car. To find them, just check out the App Store, Google Play, or the Windows store to see which apps will work with your device.
What’s currently your favorite app?
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