Technology

10 Jun 2015

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Blogging, productivity, Relationships, Technology With No Comments Permalink

5 Apps to Manage Your Relationship

Sticky Post By christinafaith On June 10, 2015 With No Comments

I will admit it I have a problem! I have a major problem managing my relationships. When my husband and I started courting I realized that I had a problem with remembering dates, things and overbooking. As time went on I realized I had a problem with that in all of my relationships. As a techie I realized that I didn’t have to have a problem with these things I could use what I had in order to manage them. Early on my husband would comment, “You need a calendar to remember to spend time with me?” Yes, I do. I have a problem. I don’t remember everything I should.

I have been an iPhone user since 2007. I was an Apple employee from 2011-2015 (one day I am going to tell you about that story). I’m probably not using all the best apps for managing my relationships but what I use works for me.

To schedule appointments, coffee meets, podcasts, church and bills. I use the calendar app on my iPhone, Macbook Pro and iPad. I remember the days when nothing would sync, then you paid $99 for a mobile me account for them to sync. These days EVERYTHING syncs through the iCloud and you can share calendars with others. I separate my calendars into Family, Business, Church and Committees that I am on. Calendar allows you to place reminders in your event, locations and invite others to the event. I use the invite feature to send others the event as well so that they don’t forget. They get the same reminders that I get.

Recently, Ted Rubin told me about an App called Refresh. Refresh is super cool. It connects to your email, calendar, and social media to give you information about a person prior to you’re meeting with them. It only gives you information based on the people whose email you have. It’s not going to just give you information about random people. Refresh allows you to know about people before you talk to them. It truly does “refresh” you for you’re gathering with them.

To make sure that I am getting “Things” done for my relationships whether business, family or pleasure I use Things to schedule my to-do list. Things is a hefty investment however; it’s worth it. It took me a few years to really get into using Things but after much deliberation the syncing capability sold me. I love sharing things on all of my platforms. Regardless of what device I use I have everything right in front of me.

Last but not least Trello is the ultimate organizational tool for business and groups. Trello is an app with a desktop companion that allows you to collaborate with people on multiple tasks. Trello brings organization to any team. When you work with a lot of people you need order and Trello does just that.

Managing relationships can be tough but if you are intentional to use apps and other things at your finger tips to make sure you are being faithful over people I am sure a weight will be released off of your back.

06 Apr 2015

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Technology With No Comments Permalink

How to Use the Apple Watch

Sticky Post By christinafaith On April 6, 2015 With No Comments

Apple does it again. A great product and videos to go with it. With Apple you will never have to worry about not knowing how to use there devices.

Check out the detailed tour below

https://www.apple.com/watch/guided-tours/#film-welcome?cid=&

20 Mar 2015

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Technology With No Comments Permalink

Learn to Code for iOS with Swifty

Sticky Post By christinafaith On March 20, 2015 With No Comments

Recently, I’ve been talking to developer friends about learning how to code specifically for iOS. I signed up for Code School and then they released a new app called Swifty! If you are interested in expanding your skill set as an entrepreneur you should get this.

For those just starting their journey into the world of coding, however, those resources are still intimidating to jump into. Enter Swifty, an app that provides an interactive set of tutorials that gradually guide you through the basics of Swift on your iPhone or iPad.

There are more than 200 tutorials in Swifty, starting with the very basics of variables and data types and progressing to the essentials of object-oriented programming. Obviously the iPhone keyboard isn’t the best tool for cranking out lines of code (especially if you’re just starting out), so creator Johannes Berger came up with an interesting interface that looks and feels like coding while actually acting more like an interactive quiz.

We have absolutely no excuses anymore. Do you have an app idea? Do you want to be a developer? Get to learning for $2.99.

Source: TechCrunch

10 Mar 2015

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Technology With No Comments Permalink

Apple Watch? Yes, Please

Sticky Post By christinafaith On March 10, 2015 With No Comments

I have been an Apple fan since 2005. Apple has done more for me than I can even articulate from the technology, software to employment. I know a lot of people are speculating their need for an Apple Watch. I personally have one reason. The heart rate monitor capabilities. I have tried a lot of the fitness wrist devices on the market and none of them do what the Apple Watch will. Hence why I’d like an Apple watch.

31 Dec 2014

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Blogging, seo, Social Media, Technology, Writer With 2 Comments Permalink

5 Ways to Gain More Blog Traffic

Sticky Post By christinafaith On December 31, 2014 With 2 Comments

Photo Credit: Global X via Compfight cc

Over the last few months I have been doing a lot of experimentation with my blog, other’s blogs, social media and over all engagement. Through a fair amount of research I’ve discovered personally that the following daily practices help you gain more blog traffic

Consistency – blogging weekly matters. It’s not about long posts. It’s about connecting with your audience and being authentic. Writing a daily post of 300-500 characters helps increase blog traffic.
Bullet point Post – In order to properly show up in news feeds/search engines you should write posts with numbered bullet points. For some strange reason people love numbered post. For example: while checking out John Saddington’s top viewed post I noticed a trend; the majority of the post that people like are those that include “improvement” or “numbered bullets” to help people improve in some area of life.
Facebook Treats Pages Differently – I switched over my Facebook to a page this month. It has been a major transformation for me. I no longer engage with a feed like everyone else. I am considered a business and that has some advantages and disadvantages.
Email Subscriptions are KING – while developing your following it is important to send out weekly emails of the popular posts. If you would like to gain more subscriptions offer something for free. This coming month I will be publishing a free ebook of some sort that adds value to my audience.
SEO and Keyword Searches are IMPORTANT – You can write all day and post but if you don’t have good SEO and keywords then it’s a shot in the dark for people to find your brand. Check out this article from Adam Smith about SEO.

I will continue to write on entrepreneurship, blogging, podcasting, filmmaking, writing and publishing a book and Jesus! I realize that much of my audience desires to uses these tools to live out their best lives. Pray for me as I pray for you. There is much work to be done. Don’t allow discouragement in this new season of life to deter you. You have something the world, your community and I need. It’s time to produce!

08 Dec 2014

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Entrepreneurship, Media, productivity, Social Media, Technology With 2 Comments Permalink

My Workflow

Sticky Post By christinafaith On December 8, 2014 With 2 Comments

I have been asked about my workflow a lot lately. One of the main topics that come up is how do a I get everything done? Let me first say I am really bad at remembering to do things. I walk up the stairs and I forget what I went up the stairs for.

In order to stay productive I have finally got a workflow that works for me. For years I have had the app Things by Culture Code. I tried to use it a couple times but I didn’t develop a consistent workflow with it. Recently, I desired to take a crack at a better project manager app. I have so many projects going at one time that I needed helping staying focused and getting things done in a timely fashion.

Culture Code recently released the iPad and iPhone version of Things for free the week of Thanksgiving. I purchased the iPhone version years ago and got the desktop version through my company a few years back. The initial reason I did not use Things was I didn’t want to spend $20 on a iPad version after I spent $10 on the iPhone version and the desktop version cost $50. To get Things up and running on all platforms its $80.

In order for any app to work for me it must be available on all my platforms. I dislike apps not syncing automatically. Things completely makes sense for me now. I was fortunate to have gotten Things for all the platforms for free but now that I have used it consistently for the last 4 weeks I now see the value of spending $80 to get my life together.

Things is WORTH the money! Things works for me due to it’s ability to organize by project, due dates, reschedule, incoporate reminders, and it’s available cross platform.

The only critique I have regarding things is the cost. But once again it’s worth the investment.

09 Oct 2014

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Entrepreneurship, Media, productivity, Social Media, Technology With No Comments Permalink

Are you doing TOO much?

Sticky Post By christinafaith On October 9, 2014 With No Comments

Your doing too much! If your a creative you have probably heard that very often. At times it’s a wake up call and at times it’s a reminder that you are right on track. At this moment in life I am working on being consistent & producing a greater quality of work.

All these ideas are racing through my head wanting to come out. However; it is so imperative that I do what is needed in this moment rather than everything I think about. The same concept applies to social media. We often do TOO much! Instead of being productive we waste our most valuable hours checking likes, follows and tweets. Is that you? I know it was me. I’ve been reading “Manage Your Day-to-Day: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, and Sharpen Your Creative Mind” (The 99U Book Series) and it has been a hard challenge for me. The amazing people at 99U have identified our creative thief. THE INTERNET. We check our email, tweets, texts, Facebook etc thousands of times a day. I have been a victim of social media addiction.

Over the last 2 weeks I have done a social experiment on myself. From the hours of 10-4pm I have stopped texting & engaging social media networks unless it’s valuable to what I am working on. I alerted my friends, family, and added the Self Control app to block Facebook and gmail. This simple adjustment in my daily schedule has skyrocketed my focus & productivity. I adjusted my chores, errands and doctors appointments as well. I noticed that when I used the early part of the morning and day to do these tasks that I wasn’t productive when I sat down to write, edit, plan or learn.

I believe that many of us are doing TOO much in our social media lives. We are not as productive as we attempt to showcase on these networks. Unless you are getting paid to run your social media accounts than you are on them too much. I love looking at what people are doing but I am more concerned with how am I spending my hours the Lord has entrusted to me. Are you doing too much? As a first step. Check your battery usage in settings. See what apps are using the most power. Remove the notifications from your phone’s alert system. I will leave you with this quote from Christian Lange “Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.” Has technology mastered you? All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.

01 Oct 2014

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Authentic Life, Entrepreneurship, Episode, Music, Podcast, Technology, Vision With No Comments Permalink

The Authentic Podcast: The Lust of Desire

Sticky Post By christinafaith On October 1, 2014 With No Comments

Do you have a desire? Is it the right desire? Are you lusting and desiring something that isn’t yours? Check out this weeks podcast as we talk about the cost of desire.

Playlist:
The Walls Group feat. Brandy- God on my mind
Middle Clash- Gotham Fog
Natalie Lauren- Get Up
Campus House Worship-= Set a Fire/Fill Me Up

All instrumentals Stussy & Soulection

30 Sep 2014

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Authentic Life, Relationships, Social Media, Technology With 2 Comments Permalink

Is Your Social Media Social?

Sticky Post By christinafaith On September 30, 2014 With 2 Comments

Recently, I have been challenged by social media. When I look at my timeline its full of advertising -(hence why I unfollow when needed)-. Now I don’t mind advertisement however; there is very little actual social engagement going on. We have made social media a place to launch our ventures more than a place to connect with people for the people. We connect with people because we want something from them. We want there like, we want there retweet, we want them to know our names and brands. I have never been that type of person. I have met many people throughout my life but I never use those meeting times to present my product or personal brand -(many times to a fault)-. I believe in organic relationships. If I tweet you and you follow back that is awesome in my eyes.

Social media shouldn’t be used as a platform of gimme, gimme, gimme. Ben Arment holds seminars, online trainings and has written a book all under the brand _Dream Year_. While at a Dream Year weekend in 2011 he spoke about “The Ask”. The Ask is when you have built a genuine relationship people are prone to support your venture because they know you. If you are interested in working with someone try and build a relationship with them. Don’t just put yourself out there. People are more prone to comfortably listen when they have a relationship with you. Our current model of social media is WRONG. We have created this gimme look at me mentality instead of building authentic, loyal relationships.

Don’t be offended if people don’t friend, follow or respond back to you. Everyone isn’t going to be your best friend and the time is not always right to befriend someone. Social media should be social. It shouldn’t be a platform for you to build your brand. The first brand people see is you. So prior to reposting and spamming everyone that follows you on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc get to know them first. You will be surprised at the reaction you receive.

I’ve had the privilege of building dynamic social media relationships simply by asking people how they are doing from time to time. I don’t do it so they will remember me. I reach out because I genuinely care for them as people. Do you care about the person behind the profile or building your brand? Is your social media life authentic? I’d love to hear from you!

06 Jan 2010

Sticky Post By christinafaith Posted in Featured Posts, Media, Technology With No Comments Permalink

Cultural Masterbation…N.T. Wright On Managing Technology

Sticky Post By christinafaith On January 6, 2010 With No Comments

Recently at our Austin Q gathering, I asked the participants to consider limiting their real-time tweets or live-blogging during sessions. Our hope was for each person to break away from the usual noise and take advantage of an opportunity to be fully present, engaged and reflective. Instead of “recording” the moment, we asked them to consider what this exposure to innovative ideas and new relationships might mean for them. Not their followers or readers—simply them.

My point wasn’t to suggest that these technology mediums were bad, but rather, to make a clear statement about the kind of gathering experience we are trying to create with Q. We were up front and honest about how certain technologies are prone to distract us from fully engaging. Instead of promoting it, we cautioned against it. This was our way of emphasizing how much we value embodiment…fully aware, in the moment, reflecting and responding to our surroundings.

Consider N.T. Wright’s recent thoughts that underscore the unintended consequences of social media.

NT Wright on Blogging/Social Media from Bill Kinnon on Vimeo.

As our team at Q maintains, the issue isn’t the technologies themselves, but how we manage them that’s critical. It seems to me, this is an area in which the church can offer something of great depth to a society struggling for authentic relationships and significance. Instead of blindly following the trends, what if we changed the conversation? What if we promoted the values of being fully present, fully human, and fully embodied? Not in word, but in the simplicity of actually showing up. Where technology helps us to do that better, we manage it. Where it doesn’t—tread carefully.

(Via http://www.qideas.org/blog/managing-technology.aspx)

This is a very interesting assessment of social media. I will say that I agree completely in more than a few areas.

Technology

5 Apps to Manage Your Relationship

How to Use the Apple Watch

Learn to Code for iOS with Swifty

Apple Watch? Yes, Please

The Authentic Podcast: The Lust of Desire

Cultural Masterbation…N.T. Wright On Managing Technology

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