In the modern world, social media has truly taken its place as a genuine part of our lives. I should know: I went without Facebook for a few months back in 2009 and missed three parties! Whether it’s Zuckerberg’s masterpiece, Twitter or the blogging world, social is everywhere. Fortunately, any modern smartphone worth its salt is able to offer you a window into this marvellous world, all from the comfort of your sofa. How, then, should you get started in social media? Well, these rather wonderful apps should help:
1. Soundcloud
Everyone loves music, don’t they? Whether you’re a grizzled heavy metal fan or can’t get enough Kanye in your life, Soundcloud is a great way to be social and share your love for great tunes. As well as listening to music, you can use your smartphone to record podcasts, rants, reviews or anything else that takes your fancy and then share them both on the Soundcloud network itself as well as Facebook and Twitter. Cue plenty of comments and a good time had by all! Needless to say that it’s also absolute gold for any musicians seeking to promote themselves.
2. Friendcaster
Needless to say, any list of social media is always going to include Facebook. Whilst you’ll all already be aware of the FB app itself, Friendcaster is a great way to further improve the FB experience on your handset (especially considering the proper app can be inconsistent at times). What does it do that the original app doesn’t? Well, first of all there’s the option for supporting multiple accounts (applicable to those who use one for work and one for pleasure), offers plenty of skins for those that like to customise things, and also has a great little feature that maps out the locations of all your friends. With a smoothness and functionality that outperforms the FB app itself, it’s a fine investment.
3. Tweetdeck
If you’re a Twitter maniac, then Tweetdeck is an absolute goldmine of usefulness. Offering the facility to manage multiple social media accounts through one programme, it’s a superb way of keeping everything in one place. Whether Facebook, Foursquare, Buzz or Twitter itself, Tweetdeck is the perfect choice for the true social media maniac. It’s also an absolute beauty of an app if you work within social media itself and have to manage client accounts.
4. WordPress
If you love writing (and amen to that!) then WordPress is a great way for you to express yourself to your friends and the web in general. Fortunately, there’s now a great new version available for Android that means you don’t even have to have a computer nearby to get your thoughts out in the open. It also offers you the option to keep track of the amount of visits you’ve had, and whenever you get a new comment. Get writing!
5. LinkedIn
Without doubt one of the most useful apps for those who use their handsets in the business world as much as the personal, LinkedIn is a superb mobile social network for those seeking employment, to employ others or simply those who want to find a new opportunity in their professional life. As free and as fully functional as the website itself, it also offers the potential for syncing your contacts, connections and even your calendar to it. Ideal for any business brain.
6. ooVoo
You’re likely already more than aware of Skype and its potential for video calls, especially now it’s linked through the mad world of Facebook. However, if you’re not entirely keen on linking up your entire existence through FB (and have seen the skewering Zuckerberg’s baby received on South Park), you might be wise to consider ooVoo. As well as offering your standard video call options, it’s also got the rather cool ‘group chat’ facility, which is a great way to conduct everything from a conference call to a quick reunion. Available for free on over 110 devices, it’s an extremely effective video call solution.
7. Foursquare
For the travellers out there, Foursquare offers a lot of fun features designed to reward those who love to get out and about. Allowing it’s users to ‘check in’ (there have been over 2 million check ins since the app was launched in March 2009), it’s a great way to see where your friends are located and what they’re currently up to. However, the coolest feature is the points system, which actually offers up rewards for visiting specific locations. As well as this, there are also badges with can be earned by visiting a certain location, city or event, the coolest example of which was without doubt Douglas H. Wheelock, who unlocked the ‘NASA’ badge by checking in from the International Space Station! If you’re an outdoor person, then grab it now – we’ll race you to ‘Superuser’ status!
Author Bio:
Charlotte Daniels is a freelance writer and tech fan who has a particular interest in T-Mobile prepaid cell phones.
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