Sure you use your smartphone to browse the Web, connect with friends on social networks, shop online, pay bills, and do lots more. And of course, you must have downloaded your favorite apps – the likes of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Angry Birds, and dozens of other cool applications. But have you installed a mobile security app to protect your phone? If you haven’t done so yet, your smartphone is quite vulnerable to malware and other online security threats which are constantly on the rise. Here are 5 malicious threats you need to watch out for and take appropriate measures to stay safe.

Malware and rogue apps

Well, if you’re tempted to download free versions of paid apps from unofficial sources, we’ll advise you to resist yourself. These apps could have malicious code embedded in them to infect your smartphone. Download apps from the official stores only as they perform security checks before releasing the applications. With the explosive growth of the smartphone market, there has also been an increase in the number of malicious programs targeted at various mobile operating systems. Install an effective antivirus and regularly scan your smartphone to secure it.

Mobile espionage

Have you ever read the terms & conditions and user permissions that you agree to when downloading an app? Most of the popular mobile apps that you use, gather location data, web history, and your contact details. This information is then sold off to marketers who start hounding you with calls or messages about all kinds of offers. You are also targeted with advertisements based on your browsing history. Data theft is also on the rise with Trojans and spyware designed to steal your personal information and load it on remote servers.

Search poisoning

When you search for something on your mobile’s browser, some of the results could direct you to malicious websites. The technique of using search engine optimization to deliver malicious links in the search results is known as search poisoning. Keep your browser updated and ensure that websites on which you enter personal information use a secure connection. Look for ‘https’ in the URL to make sure that the web page is encrypted.

QR codes

QR codes are quite easy to use for redirecting users to specific websites. Just scan those matrix barcodes with your smartphone and you are ready to go. However, they also provide cybercriminals an opportunity to post fake QR codes which open malicious websites designed to steal data and infect your mobile with viruses. So, what can you do to protect your phone? Use a QR code reader that checks a website’s reputation before opening it.

Wi-Fi hacking

If you use public Wi-Fi hotspots to access Internet on your smartphone, beware of the risks that are involved. Hackers can easily steal your data by tapping the Wi-Fi network or creating a fake hotspot. So, what appears as a free hotspot on your smartphone could really be a trap set up by cyber criminals. As a precautionary measure, restrict yourself to web browsing only while using a public Wi-Fi hotspot. Don’t login to your inbox, bank accounts, social networks, or other websites where you will be required to enter personal information.

About

Twitter is one of the best things that happened to social media. It revolutionized the way social media networks function. Be it revolutions, or natural disasters, or the presidential elections in the United States – this social networking platform was used by millions in a million different ways. Some are using it for help and some for promotion. Some are using it for sharing news and some as their creative outlet. In simple words, Twitter simplicity is what you make of it. Are you addicted to it? If you are, we have some good news for you. We have picked the best Twitter clients for Windows 8, which you could use if you are always on Twitter.

MetroTwit

This app made its appearance a while ago for the Windows 7 operating system before making its way to Windows 8. When Microsoft released the preview of Windows 8 to the world, this app was developed looking at the new interface. This app has a great interface and is for advanced users who like to have lot of options in hand. You can create columns on this app and you can filter words and phrases if you don’t want to see tweets with those words. You can organize tweets from one user or a ‘hashtag’ easily. Download this app today as it is totally worth it.

Fliptoast

Fliptoast is for power-users of social media networks. This app displays posts / tweets and also allows you to update your status on multiple networks like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Why download multiple apps for multiple networking sites when you can manage them from just one app? These guys have plans to support other networks in their app soon, too! You can change the order of the columns on your app to suit your needs. Did you know that is the only app for Window 8 that allows you to manage various social media networks at once? What are you waiting for? If you are equally active on either of the above mentioned social media networks, you must use this app today!

Official Twitter app

Obviously this app has to be on the list because it is the official Twitter client. There are many third party clients that do a lot more than what the official Twitter app does. But this one makes it to the list because third party apps may or may not have trouble with Twitter API and this one, since it’s the official app, doesn’t have any. And trust comes easy when the application is an official release, isn’t it? Your data and the login credentials are totally secure when you use this app and this is also one of the reasons why people prefer the official Twitter app.

Rowi

There are two versions of this app that you would find in the Windows Store. The paid version of this app doesn’t have any annoying advertisements and the free version does. In case you are not sure if you would want to buy this app, you can go for the free version first and then if you like it, you can buy the paid version. It has a simple user interface that’s easy to use and then all the usual features that a normal Twitter user would want. This app, however, doesn’t support lists and adding additional columns. Try the free version of the app before you buy it.

Tweetro+

With a price tage of $9.99, this is the most expensive Twitter app on this list. Yes, you heard the price right. Tweetro (as it was initially called) had a few problems with exceeding the limit for API. Now to keep that problem in check, they have pulled up their app from Windows Store and have introduced a paid version (to keep a check on the number of users and the API limit). The app is back with a bang and is now called Tweetro+. You can play around with the display of your timeline to match your mood and this is one of the features that you won’t find in many apps.

So, if you are one of those people who are addicted to Twitter and are looking for great apps to improve your Twitter experience, you must check the apps in this list and use them.

[Image credit: eldh/Flickr-cc]

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So, you have decided to ditch the Instagram app because of the recent changes to its privacy policy. The new terms give the company the right to sell your uploaded pics to advertisers. And that too, without informing you! Now that’s some privacy policy which infringes upon the users’ personal space. Instagram clarified that it has no intention to use the photographs in advertisements. However, Instagram’s terms and conditions to be implemented from January 16, 2013, still mention the controversial policy.

Android apps for photo editing and sharing: Best Instagram alternatives

So, if you want to steer clear of Instagram’s privacy policy, there are several alternatives to this app. Here’s our compilation of 6 amazing Android apps for photo editing and sharing.

1. Pixlr-o-matic for Android

This free Android app offers lots of filters and effects that you can add to your photos. Over 100 effects include options to brighten up the images, add a sparkle effect, and do lots more. There are more than 280 overlays for making color adjustments or changing the mood. Over 200 different borders are also available. You can also click pictures from within the app and share them with your friends on Facebook. It’s all possible with just a few taps that makes it quite easy to use Pixlr-o-matic.

2. Snapseed Android app

Nik Software Inc.’s Snapseed Android app has to its credit awards such as the Technical Image Press Association’s (TIPA) Best Mobile Photo App of 2012. The app’s Auto Correct and Tune Image features enable you to make image adjustments with just a tap. If you want to highlight only specific parts of a picture, use Selective Adjust to make those areas stand out. Some of the filters that can be applied through Snapseed include Black & White, Vintage Films, Grunge, Drama, etc. What’s more, Snapseed allows you to share your photographs on social networks or send them through mail.

3. Flickr for Android

This free Android app which comes with custom filters and photo sharing features is a good alternative to Instagram. Click stunning pictures with the in-app camera, apply a filter, and upload them on Flickr. Add context to your images by adding descriptions such as the location or the occasion. The app also displays a map with the location where the photo was taken. Create your own personalized albums on Flickr and share them on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.

4. Hipster

Hipster for Android comes with beautiful postcard templates to which you can add your pictures. There are a variety of filters that can be applied to create amazing effects. Geo tag the images, write a description, and share them with friends and family on social networking websites. So, download this free Android app from Google Play store and make your photographs even more memorable by making personalized postcards.

5. Twitter for Android

The micro-blogging app was recently updated with features to edit photographs and apply awesome filters. The Twitter app for Android provides you with eight filters including black & white, vintage, and lots more. You have the option to see how each filter affects your pictures in a grid view so that you can easily compare them and choose the best one. The application also allows you to crop images and automatically adjust a picture. So, there’s a lot more that you can now do with Twitter.

6. StreamZoo Android app

With this free Android app, you can edit photographs by applying different filters and borders. StreamZoo was the winner in the Best Android Photo Sharing App category of the 2011 Best App Ever Awards. The app gives you 18 filters to choose from, including Sunshine and Old School. There are also 15 borders and 6 crop shades for customization. You can flip the pics, adjust the brightness, hue, and do lots more. Click a photo and share it from the app on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc.

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Gone are the days when you had no choice but to pitch your idea to venture capitalists to raise money for your start-up. Equally old-gen are those days when you had to wait for a wealthy sponsor to raise money for your favorite cause.

Meet crowdfunding, the new-gen way to raise money for a new venture, a great social cause, a movie you want to make, or just about anything that matters to you – from your favorite artist to your local senator.

Visit the various crowdfunding platforms and identify the right one for your cause. Once that is done, develop a pitch for your project, set a fundraising goal and a deadline by which you need the funds. Now pitch your cause to the community. Patrons can view the pitch and decide whether they want to contribute or not. Your pitch needs to mention what rewards the patrons can expect if your project is completed successfully.

Do remember that the patrons are just helping you fund your project and are not actually investing in it. They won’t own any part of your project. Their role is confined to only helping you and they would be repaid when your project gets completed successfully. Therefore you need to define how they would be rewarded in your pitch to them. Pledges for support are made with a credit card so that if the funding is successful, the pledge is easily backed up.

That said, do note that the rules and metrics for repayment are different for different platforms. If you’re trying to raise money for charity, there wouldn’t be any repayment, obviously. There are a few platforms that only concentrate on charities and even the nonprofit organizations are part of these communities!

Let’s take a look at some of the communities you can be part of, to fulfill your dreams.

Investments for your business ideas – helping entrepreneurs get started

Wefunder

This is the only social media platform where you can actually get investments from people. But, as of now, you can only join the community. As per a recent law, people can now invest in startups from January 2013. You can join the community here.

Getting funds for social causes

Razoo

For the nonprofits, organizations, and individuals who want to raise money for charity. Razoo has already helped raise $106,000,000 till date and is one of the best platforms for causes. You can join the Razoo community here.

Crowdrise

Another community that’s good for charities in Crowdrise. Crowdrise was co-founded by famous actor Edward Norton. This community is also supported by a lot of other actors like Will Ferrell and Seth Rogen. You can join the community here.

Find patrons for art and cultural projects

Kickstarter

Kickstarter is for artists, the creative ones who want to create music, movies, art, and other design related projects. It has funded over thirty thousand projects successfully till date. You can join Kickstarter here.

Crowdfunding for everything, almost!

Rockthepost

There are more than 35 categories under which you can post your pitches on Rockthepost. This platform has more categories than any other similar platforms! Some of the categories found here can’t be found anywhere else. You can join Rockthepost here.

Get going!

So what are you waiting for? Use the power of the crowdfunding to raise money for your dream. While social media has often been dissed for being frivolous, pointless, a time black hole and a distraction from real life, here’s proof that there are a lot of good things that social media can do – if used right. So worry no more about where to get that funding: Move the crowd and it will help you move the world.

[Image credit: photologue_np/Flickr-cc]

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Let’s assume that you’ve visited Walmart three times in the last week. The first time you bought a couple of steaks, a bottle of wine, some fresh vegetables and a few other household items. On your second visit, it was perhaps a similar shopping list with salmon replacing the steaks, and on the third visit maybe, you bought a few video games for your 11 year old. Further, you decided to have a drink at the bar next door, while your wife shopped for girls-wear. Would you be shocked if we told you that the chances of your activities being filed and stored away on data servers are today very, very high. If you think that only curious neighbors and nosy in-laws are interested in what you are doing, make no mistake, personal data has today become the most sought-after commodity for marketers. Your life is no more as private as it once used to be as data mining is on the rise.

This is pretty much thanks to the multiple devices we all constantly use, especially our pet tablets and smartphones. Actually, to be precise, it is the GPS and geo-location based data tracking systems installed on our devices and the apps we trust and use on a daily basis. Wherever you are and whatever it is you’re doing, everything is being recorded and accounted; what you buy, what you eat, where and how often you eat, is all part of the big data explosion that every marketer is greedily eyeing the treasure trove of information that this poses. It has gotten so out of hand that data tracking apps are now being advertised and you are being encouraged to spy on the people close to you instead of trusting them.

If you think this is outright creepy, make a start by getting aware of the invasion your privacy is being subjected to.

How?

Your device is being manipulated for data mining

Those pesky ads that keep cropping up on your smartphone every time you open an app are just one of the ways to get your information out. Most of these apps are disguised as text notifications, pop ups and even app icons. These sneaky services are even capable of changing your browsing settings and bookmarks, whereby they are able to upload your contact information to an ad network’s server.

Once your data has been extracted, it is sold off to marketers – that’s when you get those almost stalker like phone calls and messages regarding various offers and deal. From then on, it’s a vicious cycle. These kind of malicious services are more commonly used in free apps rather than the paid ones. A recent study conducted by testing 384,000 apps showed that 19,200 used such malicious ad networks. However, it doesn’t mean paid-for apps are above board in this matter.

Your trusted apps reek of betrayal!

It is true that most paid apps do not use malicious ad networks or extract data from your smartphone. They do something even more repulsive: Track your every move. A study conducted by a couple of researchers at MIT – Fuming Shih and Frances Zhang, threw up some shocking facts about some of the most commonly used apps. People swear by Google Maps but Shih and Zhang’s research found that Google Maps continues to gather location data even after you have closed the app and even if your device is on idle. Since Google Maps is revered around the world for its pin-point accuracy, it becomes even easier to track you. They know where you are going, what you are doing and at what time of a particular day. And this is just the start of the list, even the most popular smartphone game in the world, Angry Birds, is no different.

The list done by these MIT researchers contains a total of 36 applications including text-messaging apps, photography apps and instant messaging services. They also found that these apps are capable of tracking everything from location information to contacts and even your web history.

Data tracking software is hardwired

You would think that they can only track you out in the open but that is simply not true. Apple uses Skyhook for geo-location information and this program has the ability to track and profile every single device that is fitted with this program via Wi-Fi. While the official Skyhook line is that it cannot recognize or profile people, however today, where our devices are closer to us than our own hearts, it could well become capable of doing so any time. There are about 100 million devices fitted with Skyhook. They can accurately predict which is the busiest and most happening location at any given time of the day. Since in the US, most of the devices have Wi-Fi turned on most of the time, it’s pretty much a cake walk for them to track and profile you.
Then there is the new service by Navizon called Indoor Triangulation System or ITS. It lets people track others indoors as well, which used to be quite hard earlier. The fact is that if someone knows where you are, they will also know what you are doing and what you have bought. The prolonged tracking leads to patterns and that’s how you can be profiled and spied upon without much difficulty.

Why?

It’s all economics

While we are all addicted to free products, free services and just about anything that comes with the word ‘free’ attached, we need to realize that there is no such thing as a free lunch. The developers creating free apps invest huge amounts of capital and man hours to develop an app. So how do they get returns on that investment? Easy. They rely on their apps becoming popular and use them to get personal data from your devices so that it can be sold to marketers. Once the data is analyzed and a buying/usage pattern emerges from the data, the marketers know what you do and what you like. Depending on that, you are sent messages and calls on products and services they think you might use and buy.
For example, the ITS service provided by Navizon will track you when you are in a mall or a particular building via Wi-Fi. Yes, it can even be useful if you want to locate a particular shop and look for the best deals around but do be aware that you are compromising your privacy in the bargain.

Data tracking is a legal gray area

One of the reasons that firms use such invasive techniques for profits is that because they can. There are no black and white legal guidelines when it comes to online privacy. Cyber laws and digital guidelines are still nascent territory. Online businesses regard accumulation of personal data as the very backbone of online advertisement business. The lack of a legal guideline protecting the customers enables firms to blatantly extract data from devices using data tracking services and software. Moreover, most firms do not even disclose the kind of data they are accumulating from people because the law doesn’t compel them to do so.

What can you do?

There’s not a whole lot you can do, as it is a gray area from a legal perspective. However, you can definitely increase your levels of awareness, warn people you know of these practices and raise a stink via public channels and social media.

First up, you can become aware of how data mining works. The fact that you are reading this means that now you already have a fair idea what you are up against. Read blogs by PC World and the New York Times. Moreover, read books like The Filter Bubble and Consent of the Networked that help you understand the loss of privacy in the digital world and how it has made data mining and tracking so easy.

Second, when it comes to apps, make it a point to read the fine print. Scrutinize the detailed terms and conditions of the apps you download. If something feels not quite ‘right’, don’t download the app at all.

Third, keep your location services switched off at all times when not in use. If you need to use them, switch them on for that period. Don’t always take the easy way out – if you want to find a restaurant, search online or ask a friend. Try to avoid the ease of use app option, until absolutely necessary.

Four, it might also be a good idea to install security software that tells you when apps go rogue. There are some good apps and software available that will help protect your smartphone from the clutches of the data mafia. If you have the iPhone, Lookout is one of the best options you have. It notifies you every time you access an unsecured Wi-Fi network or attempt to download a malicious app. If you are the Android purist, download Whisper Monitor app which will encrypt your data and prevent apps and other programs from accessing it. (By the way, even on your MacBook, there’s Little Snitch that you can use.)

Five, advocacy is the most powerful tool that you can harness. Most people don’t know anything about the data mining nexus that exists. Spread the word among friends, family, colleagues and neighbours. Get together like-minded people and explain what’s happening. Write to app developers who have created nosy apps. Get on to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest to spread awareness of how apps track and mine data. Write to your local government representative, your senator, your governor and even the President, if you feel strongly about this issue. Since no clear and stringent legal guidelines exist on this issue, the only one who can raise a voice against this growing menace of data tracking is you.

Of course, this means effort and a lot of research. However, remember it’s your life and your data and your privacy that is being breached. Shouldn’t you be concerned?

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What are some of the differences between a small business and a large enterprise such as an MNC? The first thing that would come to your mind will be the size, that is, the scale of operation. Apart from this, a small business has a very limited budget and workforce to achieve its goals. This is not to say that a large company doesn’t have any financial or human resource constraints. It’s just that a small business can’t initially afford the luxury of subscribing to costly services for its growth.

If you are a small business owner, it’s quite important to have the right tools to efficiently manage everything from CRM to online payments and marketing to data security. While the expenditure needs to be kept to the minimum, the apps or services for your business should help you get the desired results. There are loads of nifty apps for enterprises, some of which are free. Here are 10 essential apps and service to help you grow your business.

1. SalesForce.com (Customer Relationship Management)

Ensuring high levels of customer satisfaction is one of the priorities of any company. SalesForce.com helps you achieve this with its cloud-based sales, marketing, and customer service platform. It also lets you track leads and convert them into customers. An added advantage is that SalesForce.com services are provided through the Internet so you don’t require any extra software or hardware. Take the 30-day free trial and experience it for yourself.

2. Apache OpenOffice (Productivity Suite)

Want a free alternative to Microsoft Office which is equally effective? Apache OpenOffice, as the name suggests is an open source and free to download productivity suite. Applications for creating or editing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc., are a must-have for performing various tasks in a corporate environment. Apache OpenOffice gives you most of the features that are there in Microsoft Office. It includes Writer, a word processor; Calc, a spreadsheet software; Impress for creating presentations; etc.

3. Google Drive (Cloud Storage and File Sharing)

With Google Drive, you can save files in the cloud and easily share them with others for collaborative working. The files can be edited with Google Docs productivity suite. Google Drive apps are available for multiple platforms including PCs and mobile devices, so you can access them from anywhere, be it a laptop or a smartphone. On signing up for this service, you get 5 GB of free cloud storage. To get more space, subscribe to a plan as per your requirements.

4. QuickBooks Online (Financial Management)

With QuickBooks Online, create and manage your invoices, reports, and estimates, by just logging into your account. You can analyze your income and expenditures, keep track of your inventories, manage the payroll, and do lots more. Credit card payments can also be integrated with QuickBooks Online. So, get this online accounting solution for your financial management needs.

5. PayPal (Online Payment)

An ecommerce platform not only provides customers a convenient medium to buy your products and services but also lets you instantly receive payments. So, an effective and secure payment gateway is what you essentially need. PayPal is one of the most trusted names when it comes to online payments. For merchants, the applicable charges range from 2.4% to 3.4% based on the sales volume. The more sales you have, the greater will be the discount.

6. Prosper (Fund Raising)

Want to get funds for starting or expanding your business? Prosper.com is a peer-to-peer lending platform where you can get loans for your requirements at competitive interest rates. Signing up is quite simple. Just provide your details such as the amount of money needed, the objective of the loan, and your credit score. Investors registered on the website will see your loan listing and may provide you loan based on your Prosper rating.

7. LinkedIn (Social Networking)

LinkedIn is a powerful social networking and marketing platform for enterprises and professionals. You can promote your business by sharing posts and connecting with executives of other companies. Events can also be organized for engaging your customers. Create a corporate profile of your business on LinkedIn and increase the online presence of your products and services.

8. Skype (IP Telephony)

The popular voice-over-Internet protocol (VoIP) service is a must-have for small businesses for calling, instant messaging, and video conferencing. Now there’s a lot more that you can do with Skype. The Skype in the Workspace (SITW) online platform was launched recently for small businesses. SITW enables companies to connect with potential customers and executives across the world.

9. Malwarebytes for Small Business (Computer Security)

What if a cybercriminal hacked into your server and stole confidential data? With such threats increasing by the day, an effective security software is necessary to protect corporate networks. Malwarebytes for Small Business has been designed to secure computers in real-time from viruses, spyware, Trojans, hackers, etc. Just schedule regular scans of your network and end computing devices to prevent any security breach.

10. TweetDeck (Social Media Marketing)

The increasing popularity of online social networks has made social media marketing crucial to the success of a business. Social networks provide a convenient way to market products and services. With TweetDeck, you can sync your Twitter as well as Facebook accounts. It has an easy to navigate user interface and provides a quick view of the latest updates, Tweets, Mentions, Direct Messages, etc., in different columns. Get TweetDeck and make the most of social media for the benefit of your brand.

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The Harrisburg Pennsylvanian carried out the first known opinion poll in 1824. It showed Andrew Jackson leading John Quincy Adams by 335 points to 169. In 1936 and the following years, The Literary Digest conducted several correct polls, boasting 2.3 million “votes” in the process (an admirable feat back in the stone ages of 1936). Despite their success, however, later inspection revealed bias among the voters in the poll.

The concept behind polls hasn’t changed much since then – they’re still a measure of public opinion, but the methodology of carrying them out certainly has. Today, organizations such as the Gallup and Ipsos are depended on by the media, the public, and politicians alike to determine rank and opinion. Bias is still an issue, as it always will be. But no system is perfect and these research firms are notable and yield mostly accurate results.

And then there is Poptip, a new tech startup that integrates with your Twitter account to conduct polls. It’s an elegant and simple system; you tweet your question from the Poptip dashboard, which is beautiful, and include the options for answering as hashtags, your followers reply, and Poptip tallies up the responses for you. Easy, seamless, and quick. And the best part? Your followers can answer right there from Twitter on their iPhone or computer or whatever client they’re using. They answer with a tweet, no need to navigate to Poptip’s website.

The problem – or holdback, rather – with Poptip is easily identifiable; its polls are limited to the asker’s followers (unless retweeted, of course, which is a wild card bet), and if someone’s already following your Twitter account then there’s obviously a tint of bias in their opinion of you. Unless they hate you and just follow you for the lolz, that is, but most haters wouldn’t want to add to your follower count. This limits Poptip polls to matters lesser than the asker himself. While Mitt Romney can’t issue a Poptip asking who’s voting for him and who’s voting for Obama, he can issue a Poptip asking which boring businessman tie to wear. And yes, I admit, it’d probably be Obama to use Poptip, not Romney. News organizations such as CNN, however, could issue a Poptip of presidential magnitude, but there’s a select few Twitter accounts capable of that, and most would argue that their followers, too, are biased. The Romney voters are all following Fox. To add, Poptip only reaches the younger generation; only that generation is on Twitter. That in and of itself is an assurance of bias.

Criticism aside, Poptip is a key tool. While obviously not suitable for politics, it can serve a handful of other purposes. A shirt designer could use it to decide which color would appeal most to his buyers, for example. Brand name companies, even, could start using it during the development stages of new products to not only ensure customer satisfaction even at a nitty gritty detail level but also to create hype and give followers a sense of involvement in the conceptualizing process. Hopefully, that’s what our new startup will bloom into. It is, after all, the obvious next step in creator-to-customer communication.

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Making music – whether live, on the computer, or a combination of both – can be a daunting, cluttered task. These five tips will help you keep your home studio running smoothly and efficiently.

1. Label your cables

You can end up with what feels like miles of unmarked cables, especially when working with effects pedals or trying to route audio through sound cards, mixers, and the like. Keeping track of which cable does what is a daunting task.

The easiest way is to organize cables by color – keep this in mind when buying them. Try to figure out a system, e.g., green cables for instruments, red for effects, blue for mics, etc. Not only does this make everything look nice, but it’s immediately much easier to see what goes where.

The second step is to get some stick-on labels. If you’re running a well-equipped studio, it’s likely that you’ll have more than a few cables per color. Name each according to their purpose, using a bold marker.

2. Work according to the flow of audio

It makes no sense to have cables constantly doubling back and crossing others to get to oddly-positioned pieces of equipment. The easiest rule of thumb is to follow the sounds you’re making. This will usually be something like “guitar/mic – in-line FX – mixer/preamp (leading out to auxiliary FX) – soundcard – computer – monitors”. Try arranging everything in a semi-circle, so you can access everything at once.

This also makes it easy to locate any mistakes clogging up your signal chain. Simply start at the beginning, and work your way through to the end, systematically checking everything in the chain.

3. Get instrument/FX racks

Seriously, having pedals and guitars strewn around the floor of your room/studio may look cool in that Cobain-era grunge way, but it’s just not practical. One clumsy misstep could mean a snapped guitar neck or a broken soundcard (not to mention the multiple bodily grievances that can be caused once a cable has your ankle in its grasp).

There are a plethora of great floor-stands and wall racks available for your convenience. Wall racks take up the most space, but it’s a matter of preference – nothing beats walking past and grabbing an instrument without having to bend down.

FX racks look just as cool, but in a more professional, easily-organisable and accessible kind of way. Grouping FX according to purpose or instrument is a great way of simplifying your layout of equipment – once you put everything into specific modules, it’s easy to mix and match in the context of your entire signal chain.

4. Use multiple monitors

Why not just get one super-large monitor? The answer is simple. Big monitors cost a lot more than smaller monitors – and there’s usually not a large enough increase in resolution to justify the price difference. Multiple monitors allow you to split up your viewing as you wish – as well as your program usage. Having Reason running on one monitor, routed into Cubase or Logic for complete control is easy and efficient. Another benefit is the freedom of monitor placement. Feel free to extend your current screen vertically, horizontally, or square its size, for good measure.

5. Break out the sketchpad

Keeping track of your audio setup is important. Found the perfect combination of knob-twiddling and microphone placement for recording your dog? Break out the sketchpad and draw it. Regular, labelled sketches of your equipment can save you time, and preserve your sanity every time you need to make quick adjustments. Compiling a list of presets is invaluable – for you as well as anyone else who needs to be shown what to do.

Of course, in this day and age, you may want to snap a pic with your phone/tablet instead. Use whatever works best in the situation.

Following these five tips should see your studio looking efficient and manageable in no time.

About the author

Roan Song is a multi-instrumentalist and bathroom vocalist, as well as a part-time philanthropist. A great lover of music, he is on the UNISA Honour Roll for his achievements in musical theory. Roan is fanatical in his worship of Grammar as an unofficial religion – particularly the demigoddess “Semi-Colon” – and knows the true meaning of irony. On wireframe, he covers audio technology.

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When the Internet first became a thing – famous, that is – the first matter of business was direct communication. Email and IM was all the rage. See the movie “You’ve Got Mail” with Tom Hanks for details on that era. Then the bloggers came. They started publications on “nifty and cool” websites with awesome JavaScript tricks such as the clock that follows your mouse around, and wrote about their personal lives in long-form similar to how we now write about our personal lives in short-form (thank you Twitter). But the evolution of blogging didn’t stop there. Being Bloggers matured from writing personal, boring stories about themselves and their mundane thoughts to reporting their opinions on relevant happenings in the news, beginning their charge against the journalism industry. Now, following the rise of Tumblr, the blogger has evolved yet again; to curating.

Curators on the Internet do the same thing curators in real life do: collect what catches their eyes. Curators on the Internet, however, have a larger potential audience. Tumblr is, with much thanks to its reblog feature, overrun with such curators. On Tumblr, teenagers and college students simply reblog everything they like from the people they follow, rarely ever providing original content themselves.

Fortunately, Tumblr’s system automatically gives credit to the original author of a work, no matter who reblogged it. With appropriate accreditation in place, however, another question is left unanswered. Is the system fair? The difference in the ratio of actual creators to just rebloggers is vast, which facilitates a sort of elitist society. So not only do “curators” get to constantly take from the rich cultural hub without ever giving back, the creators themselves are part of an exclusivity that’s hard to breach. It’s a grand class division, and especially troubling when considering the fact that most creators aren’t even a part of that exclusivity.

A glimpse at the Tumblr #Art tag shows a stream of beautiful work by names you’ve likely never heard of unless you’re an Internet commoner. But on further inspection it becomes evident that the art you see is actually just the work of a select few artists, of “contributors and editors.” Beneath the names of those gods is a small-text link inviting you to see art by everyone else. Clicking that reveals the work of just as high quality by the thousands of creators outside the creator exclusivity of “contributors and editors.” These underdogs work hard and publish often but still go mostly ignored, as the note counts will show.

So what’s the fix? I’m writing under the assumption that the so-called elitist society won’t crumble anytime soon, and in realizing this call on the “curators” to pioneer this solution; reblog from the lesser known creators. Instead of depending on the people you follow and Tumblr’s mainstream recommendations, search through the “everything else” sections of tag pages for great art by ignored artists, and reblog them. At the very least, you’ll be able to boast a unique collection of curated content and you’ll be paying your dues to the culture hub you take from.

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At one point in my career, I almost downgraded my smartphone because I felt that it was holding me back instead of providing value. And I think we all feel this way at one time or another. The truth is, though, that using your smartphone to boost your success is quite simple; and that’s the key: ‘simplicity’. I have 6 tips that helped me cut through the noise and use my smartphone productively.

A note: None of these ideas are “profound.” I use an iPhone, and much of what I suggest can be accomplished on the native system without paid apps. Don’t let that deter you. As Leonardo da Vinci once said “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication“, the most simple approach is often the most powerful.

Finally, I want to add that my goal is simply this: To teach you to do almost anything from your phone without complex or time-consuming systems.

1. Take Notes

I love the notepad. I keep it on the first screen and can probably open it without looking. That said, I don’t use it obsessively. I take short notes that I can refer to later. Don’t try to write a book. If you’re going to be in a situation where you need to take extensive notes, bring a laptop or an iPad with a keyboard.

So what sorts of things do I record in my Notes?

• Reminders (kept to five or below)
• Things I need to buy for home or office
• Personal thoughts from a meeting or conference
• Lists

2. Save website links to the Home Screen

I hate scrolling through a website on my phone, but I also want to record a website so I can look at it later. I don’t use Notes for this. Instead, I’ll find the website on my phone and then hit the “Options” button. Then I tap “Add to Home Screen” and pull it into a related folder so I can review it later. The key to this is to clean the folder out every once in a while. Take some time to look the sites up on your computer. If they’re good, bookmark them on your computer and remove from your phone.

Why not just use the “Bookmark” function in Safari? I’d simply forget that the pages were bookmarked, but when they are looking at me from the Home Screen, I remember to check them out.

3. QR Codes

These are the square bar codes that you may have seen on advertisements or business cards. I keep an app on my phone that will scan them. This allows me to open websites by scanning the QR codes. Then I save the sites to the Home Screen.

4. Kindle for Books and Docs

I like to read, everything from business to leadership to fiction. I love carrying books, but it’s simply not practical. So I read from my Kindle application. I can pick up my phone and start reading ebooks within about 10 seconds.

Additionally, I keep (non-sensitive) business documents in my Kindle app. You can email these to yourself via your Kindle email address. Mostly I keep them as a PDF (which are a pain to read), but occasionally I’ll convert to a more easily readable format.

5. Turn off the “Mail” notification

I don’t want to know when I get an email. I don’t want a little red circle with a number, nor do I want to hear the email when it arrives. It drives me crazy knowing that there’s an email there I haven’t read. So I turn off notifications and check when I have time.

6. Use the Do Not Disturb function

I’ve recently started using this. When “Do Not Disturb” is on, I don’t hear anything. I keep the phone on the corner of my desk and get to work undisturbed. Of course, I have to remember to turn it off, but this function works great if you don’t want sounds or vibrations – and you can set it to turn on automatically (I set mine for the evening hours, 10pm to 5am).

As you can see, I only had to download two apps. The rest are native to my iPhone. I wish I could provide tips for those who operate on other phones (maybe someone can in the comments?), but I don’t know the systems well enough. I am curious though: Do you have another (simple) app that you use on a regular basis? What is it and how do you use it?

About the author

Dan Palma is a blogger who writes about business technology for events and conferencing. He currently writes for Smart Source Rentals, a company that offers conference services technology for rent. He likes to read both fantasy and leadership books, managing upwards of 50 books a year.

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