The 69 apps I use to run my life

It was August 2010…

I was reading an article in Wired Magazine that was predicting that the Internet of the future would be not be accessed through a web browser…

It would be accessed via apps.

The Internet world was going to change, and apps were going to be the new way to connect online.

(Image credit: Wired Magazine)

This article was published just over 6 years ago, so you can imagine my skepticism at the time.

It was 2010 and, as an Internet user, you would spend most of your time browsing the web through Internet browsers like Firefox and Internet Explorer.

Fast forward to December 2016 and I’m the new owner of an iPhone 7s Plus (yes, I’m an Apple fan)…

When I get a new phone I spend the first couple of days going through all of my apps – creating folders, rearranging the apps displayed on the first screen, deleting apps I don’t use, and so on…

That’s when I realized that Wired Magazine’s prediction was coming true…

I now spend most of my time accessing the web through apps!

I still visit websites and use an Internet browser, but still… wow. It’s happening.

So I figured I’d take a couple of hours and share the apps I spend most of my time on (these aren’t all the apps I have installed but they’re the ones I use regularly).

Here goes…

Messaging apps

I pretty much communicate with everyone I know via text…

1. Whatsapp – to message friends
2. iMessage – same as Whatsapp
3. Facebook Messenger – same as Whatsapp but also to message friends from overseas

Social media apps

I spend a lot of time on social media…

1. Facebook – to stay up to date with news, influencers, brands and friends (in that order)
2. Instagram – for fun, just following people I know
3. Twitter – to follow people who share content I want to read (and then connect it to Flipboard to go through it)
4. LinkedIn – to read articles that have a bit more substance (I find LinkedIn articles generally add a lot more value than articles from other places, and I have never used LinkedIn to do business)
5. YouTube – pretty much just to follow GaryVee and Russell Brand
6. WeChat – to communicate with people in Asia (just started using this one)
7. Skype –  to call offices in Texas and Romania, as well as calling my dad (who prefers Skype to phone calls)

Finance apps

I do most of my banking through apps…

1. XE – to check exchange rates for the different regions I do business
2. PayPal – for all PayPal transactions

Note: I use 4 banking apps for doing business in Australia, Singapore and the US, but I haven’t included them here for security reasons.

Food apps

I eat out most nights (either home delivery or eating out)…

1. Menulog – for home delivery (I use this one the most)
2. Dimmi – to book most restaurants
3. Open Table – to book more expensive restaurants
4. Foodora – for home delivery from more expensive restaurants

Note: I haven’t tried UberEATS yet but it’s on my list

Audio apps

I don’t buy music anymore, and I get most of my education via audio when I’m in the car or travelling…

1. Spotify – to listen to specific songs and artists in the foreground
2. Pandora – to listen to specific genres of music in the background
3. Audible – to listen to audiobooks
4. Shazam – to find out what song I am listening to
5. Spinrilla – to listen to hip hop mixes (I LOVE hip hop)
6. Podcasts – to listen to podcasts

Google apps

I do a lot of business through Google…

1. Google – for everything Google
2. Drive – to store files
3. Docs – to read/edit docs (I rarely use Microsoft Word)
4. Sheets – to read/edit sheets (I rarely use Microsoft Excel)
5. Slides – to read/edit presentations (I rarely use Microsoft PowerPoint)
6. Analytics – to check stats on websites I manage
7. Adwords – to check Adwords on campaigns I manage

Wellbeing / health apps

I like to have a healthy mind, healthy body and healthy diet…

1. Calm – to meditate daily
2. Headspace – if I want a specific meditation (although I prefer Calm)
3. MyFitnessPal – to track my macronutrients and calories
4. F45 – to book my training sessions

Travel apps

I travel a lot…

1. Uber – instead of taxis
2. Booking.com – to book holidays
3. Agoda – to book holidays
4. Hotels.com – to book holidays
5. Tripadvisor – to research where to book holidays
6. Airbnb – to book accommodation where there are no hotels (I generally prefer to stay in hotels)
7. Stayz – to book holidays
8. AccuWeather – to check the weather daily
9. Weather – to check the weather in all countries where we have offices

Maps apps

I use maps apps to help me get where I’m going, especially when I’m travelling…

1. Google Maps – as my GPS when I don’t know where I’m going
2. Waze – to get somewhere fast when there’s a lot of traffic

Reading apps

I like reading in apps because they make reading articles a lot easier…

1. Pocket – to read articles I’ve saved from various sources
2. Flipboard – to read news from Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook

Entertainment apps

I like to have fun 🙂

1. Hoyts – to book the movies
2. Event Cinemas – to book the movies
3. Ticketet – to book concerts
4. Bandsintown – to find out when and where artists I like are performing
5. Eventbrite – to book events
6. Meetup – to find meetups

Business apps

I do a lot of business from my phone…

1. Slack – to communicate with my team
2. Mailchimp – to check the performance of email marketing
3. Dropbox – to store files
4. Evernote – to store pretty much any type of information
5. Basecamp – to manage projects
6. Asana – to manage projects
7. Trello – to manage projects
8. Notes – as my notepad

Shopping apps

I don’t really like to shop but when I do I always like to start with apps…

1. Ebay – to find second hand stuff
2. Gumtree – to find second hand stuff
3. Car Sales – to buy and sell cars

Real estate apps

I don’t use these as often but when I’m in the market to rent or buy, I use these a lot…

1. Domain – to find property to rent and buy
2. Real Estate – to find property to rent and buy

They’re the main ones.

As I said, I have a lot more installed but these are the ones I use on a regular basis.

If I look at my usage, most of my personal life is spent in apps. The only time I go outside of apps is when I need to look at a website to buy something.

And it’s not to find contact information either, because I do that by using Google voice search or Siri, and then calling the number directly or getting the address without clicking through to a website.

Wired Magazine’s prediction is coming true and I’m seeing in first hand.