The 8 Apps I use every day

While on my boys Cub Scout camping trip last weekend I recently came to realize just how much I rely on my ability to find information on the fly. Truly, it is probably a bit obsessive and ridiculous how much I check my email, twitter, facebook, etc. But hey, I have to keep up! And my naive non-camping self did not think about the fact that going into the woods camping for the weekend would totally disconnect me from the radar. I have to say it was not that bad. In fact it was probably a good thing to take a break and actually not worry about my email for a few days.

But I did get the chance (at night when the kids finally did go to sleep of course) to look through the ridiculous number of apps on my phone and figure out what I think are the 8 apps I rely on every day. In no particular order.

1. Facebook

Well this one is pretty self explanatory. I update my status regularly and try and take pictures at any opportunity to share with our family and friends. I also manage a few fan pages for myself and a business I work for. I love the flexibility of being able to “work” on the go. (on a side note, I do have a favorite app that I use for uploading bulk images to Facebook – iLoader. Makes it so much easier!)

2. Twitter, TweetDeck, TwitBird, Echofon

I know, the first question would be why do you have four different twitter apps on your phone. The simple answer is I have four twitter accounts that I manage. I tried to have multiple profiles under one app (TweetDeck) but I found that I was having too hard of a time making sure to choose the right profile to send the message from. Thankfully I only sent one, maybe two tweets from the wrong account. I have been spending more time in the Twitter app and for now it is my favorite. After that Echofon and TweetDeck are pretty much even in my opinion with TwitBird being my least favorite.

3. Starbucks Mobile

As much as I never thought I would be a Starbucks person, I have developed quite a love for both a morning Grande Non-Fat No Whip Mocha and my newest favorite any size Passion Tea Lemonade with 1/2 sugar. The Starbucks app is quite handy since I can not only reload my Starbucks card, check how many stars I have earned, but also since I live in a super cool area I can even use it to pay at my local store. I don’t have to take anything in the store with me besides my keys and my phone! How awesome is that. I do think my spending at Starbucks might have increased a tad . . . but I am happy to just be added to the list of Starbucks-a-holics.

4. Amazon

As strange as this one might seem, I rely on the Amazon app for price shopping and reviews. At the bookstore, Target, anywhere I will look up things I am either purchasing or would like to purchase to see how the reviews are or if I can beat the price. Since I have Amazon Prime I get stuff in 2 days anyway, so unless I have to have it immediately 95% of the time it is cheaper on Amazon. The best part, no tax and I can even order while still in the store. The bad part, the giant pile of boxes in my garage. It’s time to call the trash people for a box pickup.

5. Kindle

I wasn’t sure about this app when I downloaded it, but I have come to really like it. I don’t have a Kindle, so this is kind of my substitute. I don’t know that I would routinely use it for reading long books, but for what I have been doing with it, it’s perfect. Not to mention there are some great inexpensive books I have picked up from the Kindle store. I have been mostly using the app for doing the Bible in 90 days. I have the specific version that is made for the program and I love that I can keep up with the reading on the fly from my quite portable phone. Other fun facts, I can send the first chapter of a book I am interested in to the phone so I can preview it. Quite handy when trying to decide if it is the right book for what I need.

6. Groupon

Who doesn’t love a great deal? I certainly do. Groupon is totally made for someone like me. I check it every day. I even check other cities since I have found that quite often the offers in other cities can be shipped to me and I might need them. I currently have 5 Groupons sitting waiting to be used. I really need to get on that. I do suggest putting a lock or being super careful pushing buttons because I did manage to accidentally purchase an Groupon for a chocolate shop in San Francisco that I have no idea when I would actually get to. I will have to add it to my list of things to do. Along with getting my cake from Sugar, Butter, Flour and taking the kids to BookBuyers. I am waiting for IFlySFBay to be on there again because I am totally going there when my kids are back in school.

7. WordPress

Since I use WordPress for my blogs (yes, that’s plural) I love having the ability to quickly post and edit from the car. When it’s stopped of course. Any moderation that needs to be done is a breeze. I don’t regularly post from here, but I have frequently fixed a typo or two that I find while I am out. You can’t beat it for the flexibility.

8. Bible

The YouVersion Bible is another great app. Since my children have all absconded with any actual print Bibles we own to take with them so they can earn play money at church to spend in the store there I can’t seem to find one myself. So I have been using this app. I have to say I have come to appreciate having the various translations available on the spot. I am also always intrigued by the commentaries posted by users on any given verse. There is quite a bit of insight and wisdom out there. Not to mention you gain the ultimate tech-geek status by reading your phone during church and actually be doing what you are supposed to (and you can kind of sneak in a peek to Twitter or Facebook since you are already looking at your phone anyway – not that I would do that)

Of course my Mail & Safari button see quite a bit of action in a day, but they are not really “apps” so I did not include them in the list. And I did have some absurd amount of emails to check after the camping trip, but I think I am caught up now. I hope. Note to self: If you ever go camping again, make sure to update your Facebook status first so people know where you are, not that anyone missed me.