MY Top Ten invites media practitioners to identify their top ten websites, apps, software tools and gadgets, etc, and here it is the turn of Colin Gray, who describes himself as “a web designer and internet marketer by day, and a podcaster and mountain biker by night”. He runs Wild Trails Media, a web and marketing agency in Edinburgh.
1. Evernote – website, etc – This is a website, an app and software all in one, and it’s as close to being my artificial brain as you can get. I store everything in Evernote, from quick little ideas for dinner that night, to full-length business promotion plans. It also acts as my task management system, and works even better now that they’ve added reminders. This is one I can’t live without.
2. Hootsuite and Buffer – apps – I had to put these together because, to me, they do two parts of the same job. Managing social media for brands is a pretty arduous task, especially when you have a few to cover. Hootsuite lets you monitor and respond to the twit-chat in focused groups and lists, and Buffer lets you put updates together in bulk, but drip-feed them out to the world over time. Togther, they make social media manageable.
3. Gmail – email provider, app, etc – Talking of ‘manageable’, until recently that’s the last word I could apply to my email. And then I recently shifted to Gmail, from the old-school, offline Outlook approach. It’s transformed my life. I put a bit of work into setting up filters and labels. Now, the important stuff rises to the top, and the unimportant is instantly archived, but is there in future if I need it. The archive button is manna from heaven too – combine Gmail with Inbox Zero and claim back hours of your life every week!
4. Behringer Xenyx Q502 – gadget – This audio mixer is my newest toy, and the novelty has not worn off yet. I’ve done and taught podcasting for years, but always on low-budget kit. Recently, I spent a fair bit on a top quality mic and this mixer, and I’ve never looked back. My podcasts are clearer, the recording is easier, and I’ve far more buttons to play with! Check out how it works in my podcasting guide, at www.thepodcasthost.com.
5. BeyondPod – app – I’ve mentioned BeyondPod in particular, because it’s my favourite Android podcast organisation app, but this could equally be an entry for podcasts in general. If it wasn’t for the podcasting medium, I wouldn’t have learned a fraction of what I have over the past few years. I subscribe to shows on web design, internet marketing, entrepreneurship, podcast production and much more. Any dead time I have, such as driving or walking to the shops, I listen to a podcast, and I’ve learned so much along the way.
6. Wireless Liberty Sound speakers – gadget – For years, I’ve been coveting a Sonos, but it’s pretty hard to justify that kind of money on a souped up hi-fi! I found some much cheaper wireless speakers a while back, though, and have them all around my house. They’re by Liberty Sound and, basically, I can do everything Sonos can, just by plugging the transmitter into my PC. It’s gimmicky, but listening to podcasts while walking all around my house is pretty sweet.
7. Adobe Creative Suite – software – Adobe are just masters at what they do. My websites look better because of Photoshop and Illustrator. My videos are brilliant because of Premiere and After Effects. And my work is so much faster because of Dreamweaver. The creative cloud monthly package makes it so much more affordable too, bringing it out of the pro-only world and on to the amateur enthusiasts.
8. Garmin Forerunner – gadget – I’m really into cycling, both on-road and mountain biking. I’ve also been doing triathlons for the past three years, and my Forerunner is a sign of my geeky side leaking over into my training. This oversized, GPS equipped wristwatch lets me see how far, how fast and how hard I ride, and is great fun for keeping track of what I’ve been doing, and looking back at old routes. You can see some of them on my personal biking site at www.mountainbikesapart.com
9. Scrivener – software – I’ve only been using this for a month or so, but it’s changed my writing forever. I write for blogs, for magazines and for publication, and this helps organise big projects and small. Scrivener is particularly useful for structuring longer-writing, like books or guides. But I also use it just to organise blog and magazine articles. It’s great to have all my writing in one place.
10. ODesk – website – ODesk is my workhorse, and I’ve met so many great contractors on there. I’ve had design work, web development, data entry, e-learning development, video production and so much more done by great people on ODesk. It takes a while to sift through the chaff but there are great, enthusiastic and, above all, brilliantly talented people on there. There’s no other way to get work done so well, in such a short space of time.
