Mobileness

I was thinking of writing an introductory post for the ANZ 23 Mobile Things. I pondered the “About” page on this blog. Writing about yourself is a difficult task!

I did a vanity search and looked at myself online. There’s already a lot there, and does it all bear repeating?

So, taking my cue from Sharon Uthmann, who says “If you read back through this blog, you will no doubt discover a bit about me, so I’m not going to repeat anything in this blog post”, I invite you to look over this blog should you want to know more about me. I’m also quite active on Twitter so go there for a running commentary and occasional inane conversation.

Also taking my cue from Sharon, I thought I’d share my mobile routine.

My mobile devices are pretty well integrated into my daily routine. I have an iPad, iPad mini, ereader (a few), iPhone 4S, Nexus 7. (Is an ereader a mobile device? I’m counting it as I can carry tens, hundreds of books using it.)

One of the first things I do every morning is pick up my iPad. I scan through Twitter for the news, follow up on a few interesting things, reTweet stuff. Check email.

I take the train to work, and most mornings you can track where I am on my commute by my tweets (many of my morning tweets are done during my 30-minute train ride). I use my iPad mini to read blog posts and articles using Twitter, Feedly, Zite, Reeder. [Update 7 May 2013: I should have also mentioned that my preferred app for Twitter is Tweetbot (which is an iOS app). I have also used, and like, Twitterific. Sorry, I know nothing about Android apps.]

Some mornings I read books on the train – usually on my ereader, which is currently a Kindle Paperwhite. I am happy to read on my iPad mini but I get distracted very easily by notifications, so if I want to focus on what I am reading, the ereader is best.

I usually listen to music during my commute, via Spotify on my iPad.

I like to use iMessaging to communicate one-on-one with people. Also Twitter DM. Very easy to do on the iPad mini when I’m out and about.

My iPad mini is what I take to meetings. I use EverNote for notes, GoodReader for reading documents, and Bamboo Paper (with Cosmonaut stylus as recommended by @thelibrarykim) for some notes and doodling.

You’ll note I don’t use my iPhone much. I find the screen a little small for extended reading. Also it’s a work supplied device and I don’t feel right about using it for personal consumption.

Once I get to work the tweets usually stop as I have to get into the day’s tasks. In an attempt to minimise my distractions, I actually block Twitter and a few other sites on the browser on my work PC. I use LeechBlock, which works well. I do let myself use the iPad for Twitter if I am having a break, but I do try to keep it brief when I do. (I find it sadly too easy to get distracted by much on the Web.)

On the way home in the evenings, I am usually quite tired and I tend to use my iPad to chat or listen to music.

At home I continue to use my devices, for reading, games, and listening to music.

I can still faintly remember life pre-mobile, but I’m not sure I would want to go back to that period! What I can remember is the day I decided I had to stop being one of those people who never turned on her mobile phone, and who didn’t know how to text. I turned it on, played and practiced.