Going to the Movies

Whether its staying in with a bag of popcorn or going out to the theater, horray for Hollywood! I love movies, especially anything that involves Pixar, Disney, happy endings and brightly colored shiny things to hold my attention.

Nobody claimed I wasn't a seven-year-old trapped in a 23-year-old's body.

However, the movie experience can be made even MORE enjoyable through...what, class? Anyone? Bueller?

That's right, technology! There are so many apps and websites that will make sure you get the right movie-going experience or chose the right movie. After all, movies are like, $20 now. It would almost cost you the same to see a bad movie as it would to buy a plane ticket and go throw tomatoes at the director/screenwriters house.

I'm just saying.

To start, you need the basics of movie-going apps. Apps like Fandango (Windows, Android & iOS) will tell you what is playing in a theater near you. It will also let you preview the movie and buy movie tickets right from your phone. So when the midnight premiere of the new Superman/Batman movie with Ben Afflek goes on sale, you will be able to buy tickets before everyone else!
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Just kidding, no one will be there.

Speaking of bad movie decisions, Rotten Tomatoes by Flixster (Windows, Android & iOS) is a movie rating app that shows you what the critics think about a certain movie (is that an actual job? movie critic?) to what rating actual moviegoers gave it. Save yourself some time and read what other people say about the movie you are thinking of seeing. Just watch out for the spoilers!

RunPee (Windows, Android & iOS) wins the award for Most Useful App That No One Actually Knew They Needed. Seriously. Turn this app on at the start of your movie, and it will tell you the best times to go use the little girls/boy's room. It will tell you how much time you have to make it there and back, and will give you a synopsis of what you missed while you were gone. I always have to pee during movies (darn you, 40-0z jumbo soda!) so this app is the best invention, hands down.

We all know the feeling: "O darn. That guy, that was in that movie...the guy with the hair....and the teeth! You know the one I'm talking about!" Breathe easy, my friend, and iMDB that ish (Windows, Android &iOS). It has saved me many a times from only remembering the name of that actor/actress 30 minutes after the conversation has ended, believe you me.

Not sure what to Netflix? Try Movie Twist (Android & iOS). This app allows you to type in the name of a favorite movie and will recommend other movies that are similar to that one. Or click "explore" and tell the app how much of the following characteristics you want in your movie: loving, funny, violent, thrilling or clever; and it will also give you great recommendations.

Except "White Men Can't Jump". Stop giving me that recommendation, darn it!

For those who want a different movie watching experience, Chill is a website that was created for those lesser-known filmmakers to exploit their talents, allowing users to rent and watch their movies, and then support their projects. Chill is equal parts Kickstarter and Pinterest for movies, and some movie projects even have a merchandise store, so you can wear your support. It is definitely worth taking a look at on a slow Friday night.

Also, I need this.


What are some of your favorite movie apps? Comment below to let me know!

Most Distracting Apps

Warning...do not open these apps at work. Productivity will go down 100%.

These apps are oddly addicting and will be just what you need on that long car ride to the beach or when your Grouper date won't stop talking about his/her job.

I mean seriously, I don't really care how drunk you got at your company's Christmas party. I really don't.

Dots (iOS, Android & Kindle Fire) because, really. Dots is the best thing ever. Who came up with a game of connect-the-dots and made it so darn addicting? You will do this for HOURS and come out of it realizing: What the crap have I accomplished today?! Answer: nothing, but you sure had fun doing it. And it just came out on Android and Kindle Fire. Dots party!

Zillow (iOS, Android) - This one may be for the older crowd, but does anyone know WHY looking at all of the houses for sale around you is so much fun? And why I do it everywhere I go? Most. Distracting. Real. Estate. App. Ever.

Knotch (iOS) and Seesaw (iOS) are great time-spending apps for the opinionated among us. Knotch lets you judge a topic hot or cold by color coding it - red for hot, blue for cold, and any color in between. Pick the color based on how you feel about the topic, and make a comment along with it to explain your choice. Seesaw allows you to ask either "yes or no" or multiple choice questions to a multitude of people. Pick pictures to go along with your question, and sit back and let people answer. You can also browse and answer other people's questions.

We all know about Pinterest  as a distraction, but for the DIY-ers among us, craftgawker (iOS) is like a Pinterest just for crafts. In fact, the company that makes this app, gawkerverse, has specific apps for any of your interests, such as foodgawker, stylegawker, weddinggawker and dwellinggawker. So...gawk away.

For those of us who like funny pictures/memes, check out apps like the Chive (iOS, Android) or Buzzfeed (iOS, Android).


What are your favorite apps to open when you are bored? 

Best Vines You Need to Follow - NOW.

Hopefully by now you should all know about the social media app Vine (because after all, I did post about it here first). If not, let me give you the 411.

Vine is a video sharing site that lets you take 6-second videos and post them to a feed to share with your friends. Its sort of like a moving Instagram.

How good can videos that only last 6 seconds get? See for yourself. I have compiled a list of my favorite Vine users with a little help from the Facebook group Best Vines and Mashable.

Creative: 

Yves Das

Jethro Ames

Ian Padgham

Educational:

Nordstrom

Lowes

Labanauskaite123

Funny:

Jerry Purpdrank:

KingBach and watch this and this

Brandon Calvillo

Jerome Jarre and watch  this

dem_white_boyz

kingdaddy

David Lopez


And these Vines that tell the truth:

How I leave rooms after turning off the lights

How I feel when I close my eyes when I wash my face

If you like it, then you should've put a ring on it

Expectation vs Reality when I do the cup song

Opinion Time! Technology Tracking: Okay, or Just Plain Creepy?

Monday, an article came out in the New York Times about the future of apps. It stated that apps of the future will be more like "personal assistants", and will be able to instinctively know what you need, when you need it. How? The answer is simple: the app would go through your calendar, emails and personal conversations.

Apps will see that you discussed meeting up with someone, for example, will be able to recognize this, and ask you questions like "You are free Monday night, would you like to schedule this then?" or "Here are a couple of top rated seafood restaurants in your area, would you like me to make you a reservation?"

Having been both a personal assistant and techie, I was intrigued by the idea, even excited about it. After all, I had once been privy to private emails, calendars, bank accounts and passwords of someone, why would placing that trust in an app be any different? Soon after, though, the words of Mr. Weasley in the second Harry Potter book came to mind: "Never trust something if you can't see where it keeps its brain."

I emailed the article and asked for a couple of my coworker's responses. Most of them were negative. "I want to go back to writing letters", one coworker stated, "Apps can't read those." "Creepy," another one added. "Definitely creepy."

Paid or sponsored advertising, also known as direct marketing, is a big issue as well. Companies will pay Google or Facebook to advertise to those who search for certain subjects or talk about certain things on their social media profile. For example, say that you search for "pet stores". Immediately, Google will give you all the pet stores in your area (which by the way, is another way of it tracking you).

But lets say you click out of that search and go to read an article somewhere. Google still has in mind that you searched for pet stores, and ads will continue to pop up on different pages you go to. Google knows you have a pet or are interested in them, so the ads that you get will all be directed toward pet owners, or animal enthusiasts.

As privacy-invasive as this may seem, think about what you just did. You accessed a public company's website to use its resources. You used a search engine to find what you needed, a search engine that paid an employee to set up the matrices and codes in order for you to find the pet store that you wanted. You essentially waved your rights to privacy by using this resource. Think about it in terms of the law of commerce: if you want something, you have to give something in return.

My advice to people is that if you don't want to be tracked, if you don't want Facebook or Google to use your information to advertise to you, simply don't use them. They are companies trying to make money, and you are using their resources. There is no such thing as a free lunch, unfortunately. Same goes with apps. If you don't want them to track you, don't use them.

I for one am looking forward to buying apps in the future that set up my schedule. If I had a dime for every doctor's appointment I forgot....

What do you think about this issue? Is technology tracking okay in some aspects, but wrong in others? Comment below to let me know! I want to hear your thoughts! 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Ahhh...baseball season. America's pastime. Getting a jersey tan from basking in the sun for too long and paying $20 for a water and hot dog. Is that grass and stale beer you smell?

Breathe in the memories, my friends.

These apps will help you make the most of this joyous season. That is, until football season rolls around.

At the Ballpark (iOS & Android) is probably one of the most useful apps for baseball game attendees. Created by MLB.com, you can use it to upgrade your seats once you enter the ballpark, look for tickets and promotions, or even buy your favorite team's merchandise from your seat.

 ESPN Radio App (iOS & Android) allows you to listen to the action even if you can't make it to the game. Personally, baseball radio announcer's voices are so soothing to me that it helps me fall asleep. So hey, if you aren't interested in baseball, you can always use this app to induce naps! Twofer!

Race to the Pennant (iOS) is for those fans who have no clue where their favorite team stands. This app will show you, in easy bar graph form, where your team is in conjunction to the playoffs.

Never been a fan of watching baseball, but love to game? Baseball Superstars 2013 (iOS & Android) will help you get into the fun! It's like Backyard Baseball for the grown up set.

MLB.com At Bat (iOS & Android) is the best app for all-encompassing baseball goodness. Whether you want to watch live games, look at stats or read baseball news, this is the best app for baseball fans everywhere.

Just make sure to look out for flying bats. And no, I don't mean the sky rodents:

If I Can, You Can Do It Too!: YouTube Edition

Ever seen those awesome company YouTube channels and wondered how amazing it would be to be able to make something like that? Well, trust me, if I can do it, you can do it too. Seriously!

My company, PGi, handed over their corporate channel to me with the request that I update and organize it. Through the experience, I have gotten a first-hand account about what it looks like to

First things first: Content. Content. And more content.

This day in age, EVERYONE in marketing will tell you that content is king. Creative and engaging content differs your company from your competitors and will help get your company's name on everyone's mind. "But Tech-Know", you say, "I work at a (insert random company name here) and I don't NEED content or a YouTube channel!"

Oh really? Let me turn your attention to blender maker Blendtec. This company has a line of professional-grade home blenders that hadn't really caught on in the market due to their higher-than-average price. However, the company started a YouTube channel called "Will It Blend?", which showed, with witty dialogue and themed posts, a man blending household items with the powerful Blendtec blender. Due to a growing response, Blendtec started making "Will It Blend?" vidoes with Apple products, video games and even pool cues all meeting their maker by being blended up in a Blendtec blender. Each video they make has over 1,000,000 views and countless views per day. On Amazon, each Blendtec product now has 500 comments or more from their growing fan base on YouTube.

Second helping: Make it pretty.

As much as I would love to tell you that looks don't matter, we are a shallow species. And to catch our attention, we must have something bright, something bold and something that looks good.

At least when it comes to marketing.

There are three key pieces to your YouTube channel that you must coordinate. Your background, your banner, and your key video. These three sections will be the first impressions that your viewers will have of your channel. The background and the banner must mesh well together, and your key video will play automatcially when someone enters your site, so it must be catchy and attention-getting.

Next: Organize your stuff.

The first step to organizing your page is to organize your videos into playlists. The more you organize your videos by content, the easier it will be for your viewers to find your videos. Next, go to the "add a section" button at the bottom of your channel, and add your playlists as sections on your page. It will create these nice little lists of videos that appear on the front page of your channel.

Play with your channel design and content until you add more viewership. Make sure to look at the "Analytics" section on your page to monitor what videos are getting views, how many people are viewing your channel, etc. Feel free to comment your questions below!

Some people who are doing it right:

PGi (if I do say so myself)
Kraft Cooking School (although you can't go wrong with food)
Apple
Cisco 
And of course, Blendtec

Apps for Your 4th of July Vacation

Most people think vacation is the time to toss the technology and enjoy all the surprises and nuances nature has to throw at you. I mean, all of the technology buzzing around your head is why you wanted to get away in the first place, correct?

Well the Type A personalities of the world say nay. You can use your phone to see what the weather will be like, what the best times are to do that outdoor activity that you have been wanting to do, when to apply sunscreen, etc. Heck, there are even shark trackers. 

Essentially, your phone can be your lifeline to a vacation with no sunburn, not getting rained on, and not getting eaten by a 16-foot Great White Shark. I mean, God Bless America, amiright?

Coppertone MyUV Alert (Android & iOS) gives you local UV forecasts, allows you to set your own "reapply sunscreen" reminder, and recommend a product based on each family member's skin type and activity level. Save the red for your 4th of July decorations, not your skin color.

Foresee (iOS) is a weather app that lets you see the future. First, pick your location and a couple of activities that you want to do (for instance: running, swimming, wakeboarding, etc) then pick your ideal conditions and time of day that you would like to do these activities. It will then tell you the best times to go do your activity, depending on your preferences.

What;s the Fourth without a little fireworks? These apps: Fireworks (iOS) and Fireworks Touch Free (Android) will help you get in the celebratory mood even if your fireworks show gets rained out.

Grill Guide (Android & iOS) is a must if you planning on grilling out this Independece Day. Choose your food from their extensive food list and let the app tell you how long to grill each item, and how hot your grill should be.

Global Shark Tracker (iOS) lets you know where sharks have been recently by tracking over 30 sharks that Ocearch has tagged. This is helpful for those of us who still have nightmares from watching Jaws as a kid. Shudder.

And for the love of George Washington, please read up on your Independence Day history. We did not declare independence from China.: