LM staff app picks

I don’t know about you, but I always want to know what technology tools others are using to make their lives easier. After all, that’s the inspiration for this month’s cover story. As we were working on this issue, it occurred to me that I’d never asked my co-workers their favorite business-related apps. So, I inquired. Here’s what I found out.

I’ll go first. My favorite app that keeps me organized professionally is the RSS reader app Feedly (free, iOS and Android). Its design is pleasantly user-friendly for a mobile format. If you’re not using this or another RSS app to keep up with your favorite news sites, blogs and other feeds, you’re wasting your time.

LM Publisher Bill Roddy gives a shoutout to CardMunch, a LinkedIn product (free, iOS). I second his pick. With this app you can say goodbye to your stacks and drawers full of business cards. Take a picture of a card with the app and it converts to a contact automatically. It also displays your contact’s LinkedIn profile information and the connections you have in common; plus, you can send a connection request right from the app. Cardcloud and CamCard are alternatives for Android users.

Hootsuite is the productivity app of choice for LM Associate Editor Sarah Pfledderer. “It’s great for monitoring all social media platforms and the scheduling feature is extremely useful,” she says. Sarah would know. She manages much of LM’s Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ activity—and she can do it easily from one app on her iPhone.

When it comes to document sharing, our Senior Audience Development Manager Antoinette Sanchez-Perkins recommends CamScanner (free, iOS and Android). “You don’t have to be stuck next to a printer or scanner to share documents,” she says. The app allows you to scan documents by taking a photo of them with your phone and it enhances the images like a computer scan would. The scan is saved as a PDF and can be emailed directly from your phone. You also can upload documents from other apps, such as Google Drive or Dropbox.

Travel much? Kevin Stoltman, president and CEO of our parent company North Coast Media, takes a simple but effective approach to recalling various hot spots when he’s travelling on business. Within his iPhone’s Notes app he has one long-running note, organized by city, that serves as his list of places to stay, eat and play. He often refers to it when booking reservations so he never has to say, “Where should I stay, what was the name of that restaurant I read about or where should I play golf?”

Here’s one for all you landscape designers: Our Vice President of Graphic Design & Production Pete Seltzer singles out Adobe Kuler (free, iOS)—billed as a “fun and simple way to capture inspiring color combinations wherever you see them.” Snap or import a photo and Kuler extracts a color palette you can save for future reference. Android user? Try SwatchMatic (free).

What are your best productivity and organizational apps? We want to know. Email mpalmieri@northcoastmedia.net or tweet at us @LandscapeMgmt and we’ll share the responses online and in a future issue.