4 Great Social Apps To Make Your Life Easier

by Lily Bradic

Most people have a love-hate relationship with social media — especially those of us who work with it. While our favorite platforms make it easier to network, find information and discover things we wouldn’t have found otherwise, social media can also wreak havoc with our productivity. Why reach out to someone now, when it only takes two seconds and you can do it later? Why use Twitter for networking when you can use it to share hilarious marketing fails with your work friends? Why create Vines for your own brand when you can watch thousands of other brands’ Vines “for inspiration” instead?  This is an easy trap to fall into, and a much harder one to escape from.

​But, when used responsibly, social platforms have the power to make our lives so much easier — and thanks to smartphones, we can carry hundreds of useful apps around with us wherever we go. Here are four of the best for people who want to start getting stuff done:​

Pocket — @Pocket

Working with the Internet means distractions are inevitable. Even using Google to verify a quick fact can cause you to get sucked into a spiral of clicking and reading until you’re so far removed from what you initially wanted to find that you can’t even remember what it was. Pocket (pictured above) can help. If you want to look at something later, but are scared you won’t find it again, save it to Pocket. It’s essentially a reading list that syncs to all your devices and works with over 500 apps — so, whether it’s a link in a Tweet, an article on Mashable or a video on Instagram, you can save to read at a more convenient time — and send it to your friends and colleagues so they can read it, too.

LastPass — @LastPass

Everybody knows it’s good practice to use a different password for each account — but without an app, that’s a lot to remember.  LastPass remembers all your passwords, so, if you have several Twitter accounts and various client logins to keep track of, you don’t need to worry about losing them. You can also share login details with colleagues, so they can use your password without knowing what it is. LastPass Premium offers additional mobile support, which is indispensable for serious smartphone users.

Hootsuite — @Hootsuite

Okay, so Hootsuite’s app doesn’t have quite as much functionality as the web version, but if you need to manage several Twitter accounts at once and manage your scheduled tweets away from home, Hootsuite is the best for monitoring multiple profiles at a glance.

Wunderlist — @Wunderlist

When collaborative task lists first started showing up on the app store, most of them were more trouble than they were worth. Finally, we’ve reached a point where they actually make life easier: sharing tasks with team members is quick and intuitive, and with Wunderlist, you get push notifications on all your devices so you never miss a deadline. You can also use the app for personal reminders and grocery lists — just don’t share those with your co-workers.

What apps make YOUR social (media) life easier? Let us know in the comments!