Technology Reseller v34

technologyreseller.co.uk 49 WORKPLACE I couldn’t do my job without… 3 Instant messaging I’m working on a project right now where speed is paramount. We’ve effectively created a writers’ room within WhatsApp, where my team can instantly share thoughts and ideas, mess around with images and audio, and brainstorm. I use the WhatsApp desktop app on my Mac, so I can drag files in from my desktop into our conversation, and if we need to jump on a call, the tools are already there. 4 Dropbox All my work lives within Dropbox – and has done ever since I became freelance. I’ve been a Dropbox user since 2008 and have seen the service add a lot of bloat that is presumably useful to someone. No matter how many times it wants to promote some new enterprise feature to me, I stick with it because it’s almost entirely reliable as a sync service and, with the new smart sync features, I don’t have to worry about my hard drives filling up. 5 FOSS Free open source software is almost quite literally what my company is built on. From the document specification that makes podcasting possible to the operating system that runs my content management system. Even the software I use to manage the code I’ve written is open source. I try to contribute back to the community where I can, by publishing my own code, offering solutions to fix bugs in others’ projects, or taking care to thank the developers who’ve gone before me. I should do more. 6 Audible Audiobooks give me the opportunity to pick up new skills and knowledge whether I’m out for a walk or doing the dishes. It’s a bit of a cliche, but that really is the appeal for me. I listened to a book on self- compassion this year, and it helped me improve my mindset and gave me the tools to battle things like imposter syndrome. I am perpetually waiting for the next Jackson Lamb novel, read by my favourite audiobook narrator, Sean Barrett. To find out more about Podiant, visit https://podiant.co/ Podiant is a UK-based podcast hosting and analytics platform that enables creators to share their knowledge and expertise with a worldwide audience. It was launched in 2016 by podcaster and web developer Mark Steadman out of a need for a simple-to-use but powerful tool that would allow podcasts to be uploaded quickly and easily. Here, Mark Steadman reveals the six tools he couldn’t do his job without 1 Castro Castro is my podcast listening app of choice. It’s the first app I open when I wake up, and the first podcast I look for is the Daily Tech News Show . Overcast is the most widely used iOS podcast listening app — other than Apple’s built- in one and excluding Spotify which isn’t really a podcast app — but Castro gives me more control over my listening queue. It lets me keep track of the several dozen podcasts I listen to, prioritise what I’m going to play next and triage new episodes of shows I haven’t yet committed to. 2 OmniFocus iOS, Android and the web are littered with task management apps. OmniFocus isn’t the prettiest, but it sensibly balances power with ease-of-use. You can create tasks that depend on the previous one; mark a project as on-hold until you get something back from another party; and, with tags, you can just see what’s available for you to work on in your current context, whether that’s stuff you can do on the phone or while sitting at your computer. It’s insanely powerful and perfect for followers of the Getting Things Done philosophy. Mark Steadman Podcasters’ Hub You can learn more about podcasting by visiting Podiant’s brand-new Podcasters’ Hub (https://hub.podiant.co/ ) Here, you will find free online courses for people starting out on their podcasting journey, covering everything from the planning process to the software and equipment needed to get to episode one, as well as industry insights and information to help seasoned podcasters up their game or get more out of their hosting service. Reproduced by permission of the Omni Group