The great enemy of communication is the illusion of it.
This sentiment, first written by journalist William H. Whyte in 1950, still applies today. Fortunately, we have access to tools Mr. Whyte couldn't have imagined. Check out the software and apps below to see if any might be useful to you.
- Alexa - Amazon's virtual assistant, Alexa can perform a variety of simple tasks, like playing music, but you can also use Alexa in your smart home to dim the lights, lock the doors, adjust the thermostat, and control other smart home devices.
- Doodle - Say “never again” to the headache of trying to coordinate a meeting, dinner, or other event with multiple parties who use different—even (gasp!) non-digital—calendar platforms. Instead, use Doodle to send out a quick poll with available date and time options. Skip the back and forth, let everyone cast their vote, and consider your meeting scheduled!
- Dropbox - A file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. This is the most popular platform on which to store and share files in the cloud, and is a reliable way to share information with others.
- Facebook Messenger - A mobile messaging app that builds on Facebook's chat network and adds mobile messaging features, such as voice messages, voice/video calls to other Messenger users, GIF support, photo and location sharing, money transfer, and more.
- FlowDock - A combination project management and internal communication tool. Its versatile chat feature allows for multiple flows of conversation, with desktop and mobile notifications.
- Google Assistant - This app is available across multiple platforms and can be used to organize tasks and "to dos," make calls/texts/send emails, answers questions, and more.
- Hangouts - Google's chat and video messaging service, provides an easy way to converse with others, either one-on-one or groups of people. Allows voice and video calls, chat, multimedia messages, videoconferencing, live-stream meetings and events.
- Join.me - An online video conferencing tool that allows you to invite up to 10 video participants and share screens with clients, prospects, and remote workers.
- Likeso - Your personal speech coach that offers an effective way to train against verbal habits and practice speaking articulately, confidently and without all of those “likes,” and “sos.” LikeSo provides a real-time analysis of your speech, including optimal pacing for the fast or slow talker.
- RoboKiller - This app blocks spam calls, recognizes "spoofed" local numbers, filters spam text messages, and allows you to set up your own block and allow lists.
- Siri - Similar to Google Assistant, Siri is able to do all kinds of useful things on Apple devices.
- Skype - The first internet calling service, Skype is the standard for video conferencing between computers, as well as wifi-based calling between mobile devices. If you need that personal face-to-face connection, use video conferencing between Skype accounts.
- Slack - Manage conversations across devices and accounts, including social media accounts, email, text messages, chat tools, and more, on one platform.
- slydial - Connects your outgoing calls directly to voicemail, allowing you to skip the conversation. Includes a group messaging feature that allows you to leave up to ten voicemail messages at the same time.
- Sococo - Allows you to work side-by-side, remotely, with co-workers. You can log into a virtual office, communicate with colleagues by text, audio, or video chat and make conference calls.
- Unroll.me - Easily control your email box - Unroll.me allows you to easily unsubscribe from what you don't need, and roll the rest into a daily summary.
The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Citizens State Bank and its affiliates, and Citizens State Bank is not responsible for and does not verify the accuracy of any information contained in this article or items hyperlinked within. This is for informational purposes and is no way intended to provide legal advice.
