After a presentation this week, the group asked me to write a summary of the best apps from the session since we had covered so many so quickly. Here’s my take on the top ten apps from a short program by Your Nerdy Best Friend….

1. Best Audience App: RunPee
   Tee hee… I love this app. Download it before you go to the movies, then choose your feature. RunPee will let you know a good time to take a bathroom break, then it gives you a summary of the plot points you missed while you were in the loo. The woman in the audience who shared this one was SO excited to let people know about it! Hilarious.
2. App that Got the Most Gasps: Google Translate
   When I showed everyone how you can use Google Translate’s augmented reality capabilities to look through your camera at printed text and see it magically translated to other languages on your phone, you could hear the sighs. I know, right? Where was this in high school French?
3. App that Creeps Everyone Out: Wakie
   People just kind of shook their heads when I talked about Wakie, the app that lets a stranger’s call work as your alarm clock. But the Wakie community has evolved into a network of strangers who call each other to bounce ideas around. I put it into the category of #HelpfulButCreepy
4. App that Everyone Needs the Most: LastPass
   Yep… I harp on password management in my sessions just like I do here. If you’ve learned nothing else from me, you need to take away that you need a unique, unguessable username/password combo for every. single. site. Every one. Really.
5. Other App that Everyone Needs the Most: Big Box of No
   When you have trouble turning someone down, there’s the Big Box of No! (or The No Button on Android).
6. Best “Party Trick” App for Nerds: Tunity
   When I go to a mixer at a sports bar, I’m usually there to take photos to make an Animoto (see App #10). But if I’m just there to socialize, I’m socially inept. So I pull out my phone and show people how they can use the Tunity app to run the audio from a game on a tv across the room. It’s a #NerdyPartyTrick that makes people in bars think I’m cool.
7. Best App for Saying Thanks: Felt App
   Audience members can relate to the universal problem of having a good intention of writing a thank you note but then never getting around to it. That’s why I tell them about Felt, the app that lets you send accordion-style greeting cards from your phone for less than the price of going out to find a card and sending it off yourself. Felt was on the tv show Shark Tank. It’s fun to read their story.
8. Best App for Quick Graphics: Canva
   The attendees at this event were managers of homeowners associations, and they’re always having to create flyers, posters, postcards and other graphics. When I told them about Canva’s thousands of pre-designed templates, their lives changed a little.
9. Best App for Remote Parenting: GameChanger
   A busy parent first told me about GameChanger last year, and every time I mention it, someone in the audience pipes up about how wonderful it is. GameChanger is a scorekeeping app for baseball, softball, basketball. Coaches, fans and team members can record live updates, take action shots and capture the spirit of the games. This way when someone misses a game or lives too far away to attend (like Auntie Beth), the supporters won’t miss a play.
10. Best App of All: Animoto
    Before a session, I walk around to take fun photos and little video clips of attendees. Then the audiences go wild (well, kinda) when they see the polished video that I create in less than two minutes after I finish gathering the multimedia. I just open the Animoto app, upload the pictures, choose a theme, choose a soundtrack and press a button. Bam! Minutes later I have a professional-level video to share. It’s has been a crowd pleaser since I started speaking.