Sunday 4 December 2011

Life before iPhone Apps... how did I survive!

When I found out that I would be writing a blog for my Social Media summer school unit, my initial reaction was…. oh my god…. oh my god…. ohhhhh myyyyy godddddd! What am I going to write about? Knowing that other students would be reading my blog, I didn’t want to come up with a trivial topic. I wanted to write something clever, meaningful, inspiring and insightful and I wanted it to be about something that I was truly passionate about.

I first considered the incredibly popular ‘Mummy Blog’, but quickly (and rather sadly) came to the realisation that – although I absolutely love my kids - I study part-time, work full-time, travel overseas regularly as part of my job and have two boys who's lives revolve around everything that doesn’t include their mum (xBox, TV, DS, basketball etc), so a Mummy Blog would probably not be my most inspiring work!

Then I thought about doing a fitness blog. I am passionate about exercise and health, but I am certainly not an expert in the field. I am not qualified to impart my limited (but incredibly awesome) health guru wisdom on others, nor am I in a position to be an inspiration to others trying to reach their fitness goals…. I have not been on the Biggest Loser or in a Subway commercial. So, the fitness blog was out.


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Time to think about something else to write a blog on! Ummmmmmmmm…… I had nothing! Oh my god, oh my god, ohhhhh myyyy godddd!

Then I saw my iPhone Apps and inspiration hit me!!! My Apps will remind me of what I am passionate about. If you look on the front screen of anyone’s iPhone, it will show the Apps that they use most frequently, the things that are important to them, the things that they love. 

The Apps on my front screen show that I am passionate about fitness (maybe the fitness blog was not such a bad idea); alcohol (drinking game apps, cocktail making apps and even an app that tracks my blood alcohol level based on what I drink…. so I no longer have to rely on the ever-popular ‘the better I think I am dancing… the drunker I am’ sobriety test!) - hmmmm, maybe I need to reflect on all of those alcohol related Apps at some later stage; shopping at Coles (woo hoo); banking at Westpac; reading iBooks and my Maps App – without which, I would never leave my house for fear of getting lost. 

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Then I realised something – how the hell did I survive before Apps!!! I love them. I NEED them! I use them constantly for information, entertainment and to simply get through my daily life. I go to the App store regularly to see what is new. I ask friends and co-workers about their Apps and which ones they would recommend.  Yes, it appears I found my passion, my niche. As sad as it sounds, my Apps (and my iPhone/iPad - and other random techno gadgets) make my life better, easier and…. I hate to even say this out loud (well, in writing anyway)… complete!

So, this Blog will be about Apps, iPhones, iPads and other geeky, techno gadgetry intended to improve our lives. It will look at the good, the bad, the ugly and the truly horrifying. Is this a trivial topic…. probably... most likely.... OK, yes! But is it something that I am passionate about…. absolutely.

I have a question? Are there Apps that you couldn’t live without, Apps you thought should have been better, Apps that you cannot believe some demented mind came up with or Apps that you would like to create - if you had the technological genius to do so? Are there other gadgets that you think the rest of the world would benefit from hearing about - or that will simply make us all cringe in fear. If so, I would love to hear from you.

I am signing off now to start investigating my new blog topic, but thought that I should leave you with a taste of what it to come.... pun intended. It is the Bacon App!

OMG - nom nom nom

You can even pick your favourite
bacon cooking utensil

and listen to it sizzle.... 



















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Until next time :-)

Yours in geekiness
i-APPreciation Girl (aka Rae)




8 comments:

  1. well I have had a mobile since 1990... that is 21 years !!! I don't reckon there would be too many people around who could beat that. Mobiles had just hit the market and I was blown out and had to have one. Back then, the Motorola (Brick phone) sold for $2,500 and there was an NEC for the same price. Motorola then released their 'Flip' phone, much more compact than the brick and that was $5,000. So I positioned myself to get into the mobile industry and eventually started a business I named Phones 2000. (It was 1991 & the year 2000 was futuristic... man) Anyhow, I have had a mobile since that time, and I might add, in 20 years there has barely a moment I have been separated from my mobile. I literally could not survive without it.

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  2. What a great blog!

    I totally agree with you - it makes me shudder to try and remember rocking a vintage Nokia or Motorola which was cool in the day because it was a FLIP phone. iPhone apps are wonderful. I use them for my daily news, weather, social networking, online shopping and checking my bank account...the list goes on!

    And, I just gotta ask -- is there SERIOUSLY a bacon app?? This is the coolest thing I have ever heard. Thank you for informing me of this. My app collection will now be complete.

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  3. I hadn't thought about that before - that the apps on a person's iPhone reflect their individual personality and passions. Perhaps potential employers will begin including a survey of applicants' apps as part of their selection process!
    Susie

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  4. Replies

    @ Paul: I remember thinking when the first mobile phone came out - and only a really small number of people had them (like you LOL) - that they would never catch on. I mean, WHY did people need to be contacted when they were not at work or at home (it was such a foreign concept)! And perhaps mobile phones wouldn't have become so popular if the price hadn't come down to make them affordable to the masses and the size hadn't decreased to the point where you no longer had to carry your phone around in a mini suitcase :-) But now, I can't imagine life without them.

    @Enrica: Thanks so much for your comment. I rocked a Samsung flip phone and thought it was the best thing ever (it was VERY cute though - with flashing lights on the cover when someone rang!). But just like you, I use my App's for everything... hmmm, I wonder if there is an App that could write my final assignment for me :-) And yes, there seriously WAS a bacon app... I am not sure if the concept took off though and whether it still exists. Something for us to check!!

    @Susie: iPhones absolutely reflect as least a part of someone's personality or their hobbies or their passions. Like I said in my post, when I got stuck for an blog idea, I went to my iPhone Apps for inspiration. I think that just like facebook pages and other social media types, looking at a persons iPhone Apps could help potential employees (as only one small part of the selection process) to get a feel for the applicant as a person... outside of the scary interview room, where none of us are at our best!

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  5. Hi Raelene!
    Love your blog so far, fantastic job! Good voice you're using :)

    I totally agree with you...how did we survive before iphones and apps?! I use my iphone for everything and anything now, and I guess without it I would have not have the opportunity to know what it is to access information about anything and everything on the spot....so handy!

    Especially the apps....weather, banking, FACEBOOK (most importantly haha)

    Keep up the good work

    Renusha

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  6. Reply to @Renusha

    Thanks so much for your kind words. I think that most people don't actually realise how much we have come to depend on our phones in almost every sector of our lives. If you just contemplate for a few moments a world in which iPhone's and Apps (and other smart phones) didn't exist... it actually makes me feel horrified - and yet this was reality not that long ago. Isn't it amazing how reliant we have come to be on these pieces of technology? But, is that a bit of a scary concept? What do you think?

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  7. Hi Rae This is such a fabulous idea for a blog - bravo you! I don't have an iPhone so don't *get* the whole apps thing but so many others do - you could have a lot of fun with this blog ☺. Keep up the good work.

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  8. Reply to @Jane

    Hey Jane. Thanks so much for taking the time to read my blog, as I know how busy your life is on Planet Baby!! I would just like to say thank you SO MUCH for the talk you gave on blogging. It helped me so much with setting up my blog and finding 'my voice'. Take care and keep up the good work with your blog too.

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Thanks for commenting!