Claire Lucas has kindly reviewed the SLA event 60 Apps and Sites in 60 Minutes, presented by Anneli Sarkanen and Simon Barron.
In case you missed it, you can view the presentation here.
I finally got around to buying an iPad this January, and whilst I’ve found it fun and useful, I’ve had this nagging feeling that there is so much more I could be doing with it. So, when I saw this event advertised, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to find out about some of the Apps that other Information Professionals are using. I was particularly keen to get beyond the hype on the Apps store and hear real, personal recommendations!
The event was presented with efficiency and humour by Anneli and Simon, who had been inspired by similar presentations at the 2012 SLA meeting in Chicago. They divided their top tips into categories: productivity, communications, legal, technology, business, entertainment, lifestyle, search, travel, and fun and games. I won’t try to list all their suggestions here (you can see their slides here for the full presentation), but I will highlight a few of my own “takeaways”.
- Howstuffworks.com – a bit US focused, but a tremendous resource for finding answers to tricky questions. I was particularly excited (if that’s the word…) that it might be able to explain the US electoral system to me, something I feel I should understand but have never been able to grasp!
- Changedetection.com – notifies you when a webpage has changed. I liked the fact that you can specify the kinds of changes you want to be alerted to.
- Goodreads.com (also an App) – I’m looking forward to using this tool to keep track of the books I’ve read, as well as those I own which I haven’t yet started! It integrates with Facebook so you can share your thoughts with your FB friends, and you can rate the books too. Can’t wait!
- TVGuide App – does what it says on the tin, but you can also set up reminders so you don’t miss your favourite programmes.
- St John Ambulance App – what a great idea! This will definitely be on my phone in case I ever have to perform CPR.
- WalkIt.com (also an App) – provides walking routes between any two locations in nearly 50 UK towns and cities, with more being added all the time. You can even work out how many calories you’re burning – neat.
Any list like this is obviously going to be a personal take on what’s available. The legal and business sections were less relevant for me, but there were lots of other suggestions which I found interesting and appealing, so do check out the list, as you may find something new there to tempt you!
Another excellent SLA event, with good drink, nibble and chat opportunities too!