2015: Top 15 Blogger Tools.

Posted on by Live & Learn

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It’s that time again for year end awards for blogging and productivity tools:

  1. Best App in Supporting Role: Evernote (for clipping, storing and syncing across devices. My new e-junk drawer.)
  2. Best News / Site Content Aggregator: Feedly. (Indispensable. Every day)
  3. Best Search Engine: Google.  (Bing is too busy. Yahoo? Wow, time for a make-over.)
  4. Best Browser: Safari for Mac/IOS – for its Reader View, for Reading List, for full article emailing and for syncing across devices. Google Chrome can be faster – has much better tabbing framework – but is a battery hog and is missing Reading list integration and full article emailing/storage.
  5. Best Writing Aid: Microsoft OneNote.  Clean interface. Slick syncing across devices. Intuitive. Easy on-the-go writing app on the desktop and the smartphone.
  6. Best Utility Apps: 1password (for passwords), TextExpander (for shortcuts) and Snagit (for photo clipping)
  7. Best Reader App on PC/Phone: Reading List (for Mac/IOS) has replaced Pocket and Instapaper, both excellent apps.
  8. Best e-reader / best reading app: Kindle.
  9. Best Notes App: Google Keep. (Simple. Intuitive. Great syncing across devices.)
  10. Best Photos App: Google Photos.  (Wow! Free. Clean interface. Exceptional syncing across devices.  Cool image identification. You have to try it. Read The Mossberg Review for more.)
  11. Cloud Storage / Back-up: Dropbox is more universal and easier but I’m on iCloud for Apple device integration.
  12. Surprise app of the Year: Apple Music.  A bargain for the family under the monthly subscription.  Downside: Complex! Holy moly!
  13. Favorite Social Media (excluding #1 WordPress): Tumblr.
  14. Biggest Disappointment: WordPress.com for its new update in posting functionality.  There is so much to love about WordPress including the new notifications and response tools but I find the new posting interface to be a step backwards.  (What was wrong with the old format?)
  15. Biggest YOY change: Fewer (many) apps. I’m further embedded into Apple’s ecosystem. While it can be more expensive (especially for Apple crack addicts like me), it’s simpler, easier, more stable and offers better integration.

Am I missing any apps / tools that you find are indispensable?

Notes:

 

32 thoughts on “2015: Top 15 Blogger Tools.”

  6. tech is not my strong suit – i do agree about the wordpress changes not actually being upgrades. i tend to you sticky notes and backs of lists and napkins and somehow get it from there to a posting.

  7. The wordpress changes are really irritating and remind me a bit of products that have “new improved” on them and are quite the opposite. It seems like fiddling for the sake of it.
    Google Chrome works best on my PC since upgrading to Windows 10. Before that, I used Firefox. There’s a bit of an obsession with apps and I think people often collect them for the sake of it. Believe it or not, I was very resistant to the idea of Kindle for a long time, but am so okay with it now that I’m now a Kindle author (as well as paperback one). I’d never completely forsake good old paperbacks. After a day spent on the computer, they seem so restful.

  9. Excellent app roundup, David! I don’t use apple or i, but many of your picks are ones I use. I would also submit pic monkey for images. I use this for all my images then throw into Dropbox for instagramming and sharing blog images when promoting on social media. I need to get into one note more as I imbed myself into the writing of my ebook.

  10. Mendeley! For storing and sorting articles, it is like none other. Perhaps its better for academics than bloggers.
    Wordpress.com – I SO AGREE!
    Evernote, huh? I wonder why I just cant get with it.
    OneNote? I used to love it when I was windows woman, there is a Mac version? And all these years I had no idea? Darn!
    Feedly – cant wait to try it 🙂

    Happy happy Christmas to you and much well deserved relaxation!

    1. Mendeley? Never heard of it. I’m off to check it out. OneNote – there is a MAC version and an IOS version – both work and sync beautifully. Thanks Makere. Happy Holidays to you and your family.

  11. Just to celebrate the tried and true: I love the voice recognition capability of my Android phone. Also, #8, the Kindle cloud across all my devices is one of the tools I use frequently. Like if I’m taking Mom to a doctor appointment, instead of lugging my Kindle (ha! how soon we become spoiled/entitled) I’ll continue reading current book on my phone. Merry Christmas to you and yours, David.

  13. Wow. You are The Ap Master. I’m over here with my sticks, rubbing them together.
    But you’re so right about the new WordPress posting format. Yuck. You can still get to the old one, thank goodness.

  14. David, which app do you use for sharing across multiple platforms or do you tailor them all and post individually (wow)?
    I’ve tried Buffer but it dense do a great job.

    1. Hi Makere. Happy New Year! I absolutely do not post individually. WordPress has ability to automatically post same WordPress post simultaneously to Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and Google +.

      1. Mt attempts to share on FN are very messy-looking, to my dismay. Quite the opposite of your polished look. I shall call in the troops 🙂

  15. Happy New Year to you also! I hope it was a wonderful Christmas and New Year 🙂
    note to self – although it doesn’t seem that way, New Year WAS only 8 days ago!
    Thank you for this, that’s helpful. I regularly don’t see what is staring me in the face 🙂

    Have a wonderful week-end down there

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