How to Publish to Apple News to Increase Your Blog Readership

Do you have your own blog?

Are you getting regular traffic coming to your site to view your content?

Or maybe you’re creating lots of new content but your audience isn’t engaging with it – even if you’re promoting it to your email list and through your social media channels.

If you find you’re in this situation and you’re not seeing the results you would like, it’s time to look at spreading out your content to other channels to help you do some of the heavy lifting and drive more readers back to your site!

One way to do this is using Apple News Publisher.

If you’re not familiar with Apple News, it’s a news reader similar to Flipboard where you can easily view your favorite news sources, blogs and more from your iOS devices.

With more than 1 billion iOS devices sold, how would you like to bring some of those users over to your site to read your content?

In this article, you’ll learn how to publish to Apple News. This way you can start capitalizing on the large number of iOS users who will be using Apple News to read their favorite content.

Let’s take a look at how to add your blog to Apple News Publisher.

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4 Takeaways from a Fireside chat with Tim Cook at Duke University

Over the weekend, I spent some time at Duke University, where I had the pleasure to listen to Tim Cook, a Fuqua school of business alumni and the CEO of Apple.

Tim Cook at fireside chat at Fuqua school of business

For anyone who knows me, I love technology. Not just the new gadgets, but learning how to incorporate it into my business and being able to then share my knowledge with others who want to do the same.

A few things to note about the fireside chat, Tim was extremely personable (that’s probably because the room only sat a few hundred people) and while Tim spoke for just over an hour, what impressed me the most was that the conversation wasn’t just about Apple’s current share price (there were a few jokes on that).

Instead, Tim talked about his experiences, what it was like to work with Steve Jobs, product development, finding your north star, and what spurred him to join Apple. All-in-all, I took a lot away from the fireside chat with Tim Cook.

Here are a few of my favorites:
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Signature-Secret Notes and Photos App Review [video]

Signature-Secret notes & photos app review

If you store passwords, login credentials or personal information you don’t want others to access in the notes app on your iOS device or in your emails, it’s time to make a change. Storing important data like this in an unsecured location can be trouble if someone gets your device. That’s why you should consider a secure option like the app, Signature-Secret Notes and Photos. While storing this information in apps such as notes or in your email makes it easy access sensitive information when you need it, if you ever lose your device or don’t have it password protected, someone can easily access this important information. So how do you make accessing secure data like passwords and login credentials easy and secure at the same time? Signature-Secret Notes and Photos.

What I like about Signature-secret notes and photos:

Continue reading Signature-Secret Notes and Photos App Review

How to share photos and videos right from the Mail App in iOS

Sharing photos and videos within the Apple Mail app in iOS can be challenging.  In most cases, there’s a lot of bouncing between different apps.

Fortunately, I found a handy shortcut which let’s you attach photos and videos right from within the Mail App in iOS – an no, it isn’t copy and paste.

Here’s a rundown on this (relatively unknown) shortcut to share photos and videos from the Mail App in iOS along with a one minute video.

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How to restore the sidebar in iTunes 11

Restore the sidebar in iTunes 11Yesterday, Apple launched iTunes 11. One thing you’ll notice is that it is very minimal – replacing menus for beautiful coverart.  In addition, the sidebar where you could easily organize your playlists and access your devices is now missing as well.

For most users, iTunes 11 will take some getting used to.  Fortunately, if you want the missing sidebar in iTunes 11, you can bring it back – without any hacking or special tweaks. All you need to do is follow these instructions.

How to restore the missing sidebar in iTunes 11

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View and send tweets to iOS contacts

Now that you’ve purchased your first iOS device (iPhone, iPad or iPad Mini) and taken the time to import or add phone numbers and addresses to all of your contacts, one important area you don’t want to overlook is to add in your contacts Twitter username.

Why add a Twitter username to your contacts?

By adding a contacts Twitter username, this allows you the opportunity to easily view tweets from your friend right from your contacts. This also makes it easy to send your contact a tweet right from your contacts screen as well.

How to view and send a tweet to iOS contacts

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How to use dictation in Mountain Lion

One of my favorite new features in OS X Mountain Lion isn’t reminders or Messages – they’re pretty awesome in their own right. Instead, I’ve been using the dictation and speech tool.

If you’re not familiar with this feature, what it does is it lets mac users speak to their mac – when composing emails, performing a Google search, writing a Microsoft Word document, sending and posting a status update in Facebook – among other applications.

To help you use dication in Mountain Lion, I’ve put together instructions along with a short video walking you through how to use dictation in Mountain Lion.

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How to add Google Maps in iOS 6

Adding Google Maps in IOS 6

Yesterday, Apple CEO, Tim Cook announced that Apple “fell short” with Apple Maps in iOS 6. While Apple Maps received a lot of negative press when it first launched – in particular,  users complained that Apple Maps was buggy and provided the wrong directions, I had the opportunity to use it and while I enjoyed using Apple Maps (no wrong directions here), what I missed most were walking directions. Other than that, I felt it was an adequate solution, that will continue to improve over time.

With no official app available for Google Maps, how do you add Google Maps in iOS 6 (or can you)? Fortunately, there’s a very quick and easy way to add Google Maps in iOS 6. Details are below.

How to add Google Maps in iOS 6

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How to disable ad tracking on iOS devices

How to disable ad tracking on iOS 6 devicesBy now, hopefully you have upgraded your iOS devices to iOS 6. Not only are there a lot of new features (like Apple Maps), but there are also some hidden gems, such as ad tracking. 

What is ad tracking?

Ad tracking is a way for advertisers to track your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.  Fortunately though, Apple has added in the ability to limit ad tracking on your iOS 6 devices. – you just need to turn it on.

How to disable ad tracking on iOS devices
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App of the day: ProCamera and ProCameraHD

Download ProCamera and ProCameraHD app for Apple iPhone and iPadIf you’re someone who shoots a lot of photos and videos, you now how important it is to have expert control of the focus and exposure of your shots.  While the camera for the Apple iPhone and iPad works great, the controls you get when taking photos or videos is about average.

What this often leads to are under-exposed photos along with missed opportunities because your iPhone or iPad were not fast enough. Fortunately, there is a way to fix this.

What I like about this app:

Continue reading App of the day: ProCamera and ProCameraHD