An interview with Maura Lafferty, independent PR professional based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Caroline Brent: What are the apps you use every day, and why do you like them?
Maura Lafferty: Instagram - A picture is worth a thousand words when it comes to keeping up with friends and colleagues' lives.
Twitter - I use this as my aggregator; it lets me know about the most up-to-date news, including story angles that don't always make it into official news reports.
Gmail, Maps - I am a fan of most Google applications—they get a lot right about the user experience.
Shot of Maura Lafferty's iPhone screen
Spotify - Since I don't have much storage to carry music files with me when I'm on the go.
CB: Is there an app you think developers should be working on?
ML: Rather than a particular utility, I'd love for developers and designers to move away from a profit focus. There are lots of long-tail opportunities for apps I see marketed in really crowded spaces, like targeting Fortune 500 clients, and there are so many ways that developers could create success by building out overlooked audiences/potential customers.
CB: Is there an app that surprised you with its usefulness?
ML: I'm always excited when I figure out how to better integrate something that I have on my phone with the way that I use the application on my laptop, like installing the Google Drive app so I can update documents on the go. I love cloud-based apps like Evernote that provide seamless integration so I don't have to worry about making sure everything is properly synced.
CB: If you could recommend one app for every arts manager, what would it be?
ML: The tool that best allows you to keep an eye on the outside world, that challenges you to stay on your toes.