Feeding from the frenzy

F is for Feedly, Flickr and Flipboard

A-Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Feedly

Feedly is a content aggregator so you can get the content you want to see coming automatically to you without having to visit individual websites or without cluttering your email inbox.

All the blogs and website updates I want to read are delivered to my Feedly in a continuous stream. I can scan through them quickly or choose to read the whole article. To add a site to Feedly use the magnifying glass to activate search then simply type or paste in the web address required. Click the plus button to add the feed.
During this A-Z blogging challenge April 2016, I’ve added the following blogs to my free Feedly account. Add what you want to read via apps iOS or Android, or via modern desktop web browsers.

• Exploring family
• Family History fun
• Family Tree Blossoms
• GenWestUK
• Going over the Hill
• History Roundabout
• Little Wandering Wren

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Flickr

Flickr provides 1TB of free storage for your photos. Turn on the auto-uploader and set to private or public. Edit and organise photos into albums, add titles and other data. Share to groups or share albums with others. This is a great place to back up all your photos. Once added to Flickr they can be deleted from your device to free up storage space.

Flickr is used by many prominent libraries and archives to showcase their selections to the public. Visit the millions of photos shared by the British Library or one of my favourites, the State Library of South Australia. Search for photos shared by Creative Commons licences, tap the i to get information about shared photos. Remember to attribute the source if reusing shared photos. Add photos of ancestors so that others may find them. Apps for iOS and Android.

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Flipboard

Flipboard collates stories from a variety of sources into beautiful magazines. Free for iOS and Android.

Explore the cover stories provided then search for an area of interest to follow or choose an information stream such as Twitter. This is my favourite app for following Twitter. Make your own magazines to save articles that interest you. Magazines can be public or private. I have magazines made from twitter hashtags and one from my family history blog.

Download the app to take a look at the A-Z challenge 2016 magazine I've been compiling from favourite posts so that I may revisit them after the rush of April is over.

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Next up G – A Gaggle of goodies

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/feeding-from-frenzy.html

Explain and remember

E is for Evernote and Explain Everything

A – Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Evernote

Ever needed somewhere to store all your stuff? This powerful note-taking tool works across all platforms. Store all your notes, to-do lists, receipts, bills, prescriptions, research, blog ideas and more. My list of apps for this A-Z challenge is just one of hundreds of notes I have stored in Evernote.

Add to Evernote by typing, snapping a picture, scanning a page, clipping a website or part of an article, speaking a note or sending an email.
Add tags to your notes and/or arrange into notebooks. The sophisticated search system within Evernote can retrieve your stored information by searching through titles, words within notes, tags, dates and hand or typewritten text within images.

The free version allows monthly uploads of 60mb with unlimited storage, search, and the ability to annotate images. Paid versions offer additional features. It syncs across all platforms so notes added via phone can be seen on tablet or computer. Endless articles have been written extolling Evernote. Go paperless or, at least, some way towards being paperless by using Evernote. Free for iOS and Android.

Evernote guide for iOS

Evernote guide for Android

11 tips for getting started with Evernote by Tonia Kendrick

Evernote tips from Lisa Louise Cooke

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Explain Everything

This app is like an interactive whiteboard.
Add illustrations, tables, charts, diagrams, videos, text, pictures, webpages and more.
Import content from a wide variety of sources and annotate on anything including videos.
Add single slides as in a presentation or work on the infinite canvas which can be zoomed and panned with these actions incorporated into the recording. Once all your content is in place press the red button to record.
Annotate on the screen as you record a commentary.
Use the timeline to edit your recording. Save projects locally for further edits or export as a PDF, or MP4 video to Dropbox, Google Drive, YouTube or a range of other sites.
All the tools needed for editing in Explain Everything are located in a simple visual toolbar.
The best way to get an idea of the power of this app is to view one of these tutorials.

• Explain Everything for iOS
• Explain Everything for Android
• Explain Everything for Windows

So if you have something to explain, or are simply looking for a novel way to present your stories, have a play with Explain Everything.

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Next up - F Feeding from the frenzy

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/explain-and-remember.html

Do your data a favour

D is for Dropbox, Drive and Docs

A-Z challenge 2016: Apps in April

Do you store your data in places other than your mobile devices? Here’s a range of apps to help you get that data online so that when your device or computer fails you will not lose all.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a popular file hosting service, cloud service, that enables your to store your files online. These synchronised files can be accessed through apps on iOS, Android and Windows. A free limit of 2GB can be increased by referring others to the site. It was established in 2007 and continues to add to its services.
Many other mobile apps integrate with Dropbox. Files and folders can be shared with others. Switch on automatic upload of pictures from phones and tablets then free up the space on your mobile device. Deleted files are stored for up to 30 days a convenient service for those mistakes we sometimes make.

I use Dropbox to share photos and files with my siblings and I have the majority of documents from my computer synced there so that I can access them on my mobile devices. Get the apps iOS, Android and download for Windows or Mac.

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Drive

Google provides 15GB of storage space - iOS and Android
Drive: Stores your documents and syncs across devices. Any documents created within Google’s free office suite of products; documents, spreadsheets, presentation slides and drawings do not count towards the 15GB. Other format files such as MS Office and PDFs do use storage space.

View and edit your work via this mobile app available for all platforms. Share files with others. Filter search by file type or date modified or simply search for a word or title.within a document. If you use Google photos the Drive search will also locate them by title or recognition e.g. search for dog and any photos of dogs you have will show up even if they do not have dog in the title or metadata.

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Docs

Google Docs is part of Google’s suite of office products. Choose from a variety of templates or start with a blank document. The mobile app available for all platforms has sophisticated editing tools. Documents can be shared and/or collaboratively edited.

Docs are a vital part of my document strategy and having access via phone and iPad allows me to edit and update them.

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If you are not a Google fan there are alternative apps with similar functions - Docs to Go which uses MS Office formats is available in both free and paid versions for iOS and Android.

Microsoft OneDrive for iOS and Android provides cloud storage with mobile access for your Microsoft Office files.

So do your data a favour, get it online and accessible from your mobile device.

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Next up E - Explain and remember

This post first appeared on http://librarycurrants.blogspot.com/2016/04/do-your-data-favour.html