Keeping Up With the Androids

One thing that I like to do on my Android is keep track of what's going on in the world today. I like to read about what my friends are doing, and where they're going. I also like to know what's popular, and I like to know what's going on in the world of technology. I'm a curious man. Fortunately, my Android phone has a number of applications to help me keep up with the world around me.

Friends

Facebook

Everybody is on Facebook. Seriously. It seems that every time I log on there's someone else that I used to know that has a Facebook profile. I myself have a Facebook profile, and three fan pages that I admin. So, if your going to keep up with people, it's probably best that you have a Facebook app on your Android. The official Facebook application available on the Android Market works just fine for this task.

Myspace

Myspace seems like a dinosaur at this point, but, for reasons unknown, is actually the number two downloaded social networking app on the Android market, and, for a good while, was actually in the number one spot. With the ability to check and write blog posts, messages, and bulletins, you will be able to keep up with the few friends that may still check their Myspace.

Gowalla

This is, currently, my favorite social networking site. Having the ability to check in to places, and to see where my friends have been hanging out is actually really cool, and I love getting stamps and pins!

What's Popular

Yelp!

I don't know about you guys, but I love trying new things, and one off the best things to have when your going out into the world to try something new is Yelp. Yelp is an online review community, and is one of the best places to look if you want to know what everyone else is saying about the place that you want to go. As their database is community updated, you can find anything in the reviews from what to eat to where to sit. I usually use Yelp to find restaurants, but they cover pretty much anything that there is, and you can add your review on a bank, gas station, or even a public place.

Digg

Is anyone else here interested in what the popular web trends are? Digg is a page ranking site. What happens is that a user submits a website, and other users either dig it or bury it. You can see some of the most popular topics according to the crowds if you just spend a little bit of time looking around in here, and you can make your opinion count as well.

News

Express News

Express news is a news aggregator which, with a little bit of settings adjustments, delivers the news that you want to hear about, and leaves out the stuff that bores you. Political junkie? There are plenty of political channels for you to choose from. Are sports the only thing that you want to hear about? You can make this your sports news app. With its customization options, this is one of the best news applications that I have come across.

NPR News

This is really only on hear because I know that there are a lot of NPR junkies out there. You can browse the NPR topics, add items to your playlist, and listen to them all when you get ready. It's a well-made app, and is worth the download.

Twitter! (Seesmic)

For those of us who like to read our news articles online, this is probably one of the best sources of news you can find. I follow most of the technology and Android review sites, and having Twitter notify me that a new article has been written allows me to stay on top of the tech world. The Twitter client that I use is Seesmic, and I have no complaints about the interface.

There are more options out there that I did not touch on, but that is largely because I don't use them, and I don't want to review it unless I use it. This list is my current method for keeping up with what's going on in the world and with my friends, and I hope that you find it to be useful!