I got my start as a blogger through citizen journalism during Hurricane Katrina. As a result, I have a great interest in ways to create media on the go. Whether it’s audio, video, or the curation of social media, the advent of tablet computers has provided a wealth of new tools for the content creator on the run.

Today, I’m going to take a look at some of my favorite tools for the iPad — apps that allow everything from on-the-spot video editing to live broadcasting. This list is geared toward the beginner, so I am going to look at the basics. The apps I’ll be describing are either free or in the five-dollar range at the most.

Google Chrome (Free) | iTunes Store

A good browser is always useful. For instance, if you get a chance to do an interview you weren’t expecting to do and aren’t ready for, you can Google the subject so that you can ask the right questions. While the built-in Safari browser in iOS is great, it does have limitations. With Chrome, you can get an experience much more in line with the desktop than with mobile.

Photoshop Express (Free) | iTunes Store

This cropped version of Photoshop is more than sufficient for doing quick image editing on the go. Captions, cropping, control of basic characteristics like brightness and saturation, and filters all allow you to give your image that extra bit of fine-tuning before uploading it to Flickr or Google Images.

Aviary (Free) | iTunes Store

Another terrific image editor in this vein is the open-source-based Aviary. A long-time workhorse of the Internet world, it has a super simple interface and is extremely useful when speed is required. It boasts one simple toolbar across the bottom of the screen for rapid edits, and it saves the output as a new image automatically, allowing you to retain your source picture.

Flickr Studio ($4.99) | Website | iTunes Store

If you use Flickr for your image-sharing, like I do, it just doesn’t get any better than this. Flickr Studio is the most powerful and efficient app I’ve tried. For a citizen journalist, the most important feature is the upload function: you can tag an image, add it to sets or to public groups, etc. It gives you almost all the functionality of the desktop website, but with a user experience in line with the Apple esthetic. The ease of use and versatility make it a must for the media creator on the fly.

iMovie ($4.99) | iTunes Store

Planning on generating content for YouTube? This is a great place to start. The cropped version of iMovie still packs a serious punch. You can shoot video directly into the program, allowing you to add several video segments as they are recorded, and edit them when you have time. I’ve always been intimidated by video editing, but the touchscreen interface of the iPad makes it much more intuitive and simple to use. It even has built-in effects that allow you to add captioning.

If you want to produce professional-looking video content, this is the place to start.

SoundCloud (Free) | iTunes Store

I got my start recording audio on the Web. During Katrina, I was using AudioBlogger, a long-outmoded service that allowed you to call in audio from any phone line and have it automatically post to your blog. Technology has evolved extensively since those days. The leader of the pack, based on sheer functionality, if nothing else, it the U.K.-based SoundCloud.

Not only does it have an extensive array of sharing capabilities, essential for this sort of work, but it also allows you to add comments directly to a particular point in the recording. This allows people to add their thoughts to the pertinent part of the interview. Even better, the SoundCloud comments show up everywhere the file has been embedded. Add this to the thriving international community it has built, and you’ve got one of the most useful audio applications around.

HootSuite (Free) | iTunes Store

If you’re trying to do real-time coverage, HootSuite is indispensable. It is a dashboard program that allows to monitor, respond, and schedule posts on a wide variety of social networks including Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook (both profiles and pages). Word on the net is that Google + integration is coming soon as well.

Creating media is a lot of fun, but if you don’t get in front of people, it doesn’t make a difference. With HootSuite, you can share your offerings as they are produced as well as solicit questions and comments from those following you online.

Google+ (Free) | iTunes Store

The Google+ iPad app has a lot to offer. Not only can you use it to interact in the ways I noted while describing HootSuite, but you can also initiate or join Hangouts through it. (Hangouts are Google’s new video chat system.)

At the moment, you cannot do a Hangout On Air, the broadcasted and archived Hangout that shows the platform’s true versatility. Of course, if you have a confederate with a desktop computer, they could start a Hangout On Air from your page and then invite you to join. That way you can still run the Hangout for your band, but be able to interact with it from the personal account on your iPad.

Pinterest (Free) | iTunes Store

Okay, so you’re working with images, right? Pinterest should be part of your workflow. My usual style of syndication is to shoot the pics, edit if needed, and then upload to Flickr. Once they are there, I pin them in Pinterest and share the link to the photo on Flickr through my other channels (Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc.). While I do have reservations about the copyright liability issues associated with the company user agreement, one of those would apply to a case where you are pinning something you hold the copyright to.

WordPress (Free) | iTunes Store

Indispensable! WordPress on the iPad supports multiple accounts. As a matter of fact, this entire post has been created using that ability. This is fantastic if you contribute to multiple WordPress-based blogs like I do.

Its only option is the code view, but you can preview your edits easily with one touch of the screen. All your usual basic tools are there, although you won’t be able to access options for plug-ins. These are not really bad stumbling blocks, but it’s good to be aware of them. All in all, it has a great interface and gives you everything you would need onsite. The biggest problem with it is Apple’s annoyingly overzealous autocorrect.

This is where you will centralize you media and combine it into blog posts. Think of it as the hub of your reporting. You create the audio, video, etc., and then it all comes together at the blog level.

If you go out and play with this in the field, I advise a shock- and water-resistant hard case for your device. Just in case.

Let me know how you put these tips to use, leave us some links in the comments when you do!

Related articles

• 40 best iPhone and iPad apps this week
• Will Apple’s iPad ‘Pro’ work for you?
• Rock All Your Content Wirelessly with the Seagate GoFlex Satellite Wi-Fi Drive
• 20 Useful Free iPhone Apps Collection

The post 10 iPad Apps for On-The-Spot Media Creation appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

The post Livestream – Rising Tide 7 appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

Every social media platform has a different array of images needed in order to set it up properly. The common thread is that they don’t often list the size image needed until you are already into the upload process.

Since several of my students and clients recently have requested this info (Hi Marcy!)  I’m posting it here where it can be the most accessible for everyone.  The infographic is the work of the bold folks over at LunaMetrics. I’d like to thank them for making it freely share-able!

Designed by LunaMetrics

The post Image Sizes for Social Media Profiles appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

The post Infographic: Why We Love WordPress appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

The recent release of two Google based apps has been a true boon to iPad users.

With an iOS version of the Chrome browser the device has massively increased in usefulness. Likewise the newly updated Google+ app is a thing of beauty with a gorgeous user interface that really brings the platform to life. Between the two my iPad has become a truly useful work tool, finally.

So what is my problem? The same problem I had with Facebook for many years: there is no way to control or access Google+ pages using the app. To compound the problem you cannot really switch over to the desktop version ( which would give you thins capability), not even in the new version of Chrome.

Come on Google, there are many of us for whom this would be a boon. It would also be a golden opportunity to show that you can learn from Facebook’s mistakes. What do you say?

The post Google: Learn from Facebook’s mistake. Please appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

Sometimes you just need a basic bit of information.

Today’s tidbit concerns the new Facebook Timeline. There are lots of tutorials for adapting to Facebook’s new way of doing things but I find that most of them leave out one simple and practical bit of information – the size of the images you’ll need to use. So, in the interest of being useful here they are:

• Cover Image – 851 x 315 pixels
• Profile Image – 200 x 200 pixels  (leave a 12 pixel  border to allow for Facebook’s auto-cropping)
• App Images – 111 x 74 pixels

Keep in mind that these images cannot include price or purchase information, contact info, calls to action or references to Facebook features such as Like or Share.

For a more in-depth look at the new Timeline check out my recent series on SixEstate – Grappling with Timeline Part 1 and Part 2. Part 3 will be online Monday morning.

Image by birgerking, used under its Creative Commons license.

The post Facebook Timeline – Image Sizes appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

I’ve been writing on other platforms in opposition to SOPA, but I think my favorite introduction to the subject in the wake of the Internet Blackout Wednesday is John Stewart’s.

It’s a deadly serious issue despite the laughs, and now that I have wrapped up a pair of website launch projects I’ll probably be writing about it here. As a content creator I’ve had my words stolen. Scraper sites have lifted endless reams of my text over the years, and yet I find SOPA far more worrisome. Piracy means I lose some revenue, but the ramifications of SOPA could put me out of business completely.

Several client projects are wrapping up and one book launch is well underway. I’d like to thank all of my clients old and new for the business, it is truly valued!

The post SOPA and John Stewart appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

Forrester’s CEO, George Colony, made a fantastic presentation at LeWeb this year in which he talks about three major shifts, or as he calls them Social Thunderstorms, that we will be seeing in 2012.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XZNsBz0aGw

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it! Enjoy!

The post Forrester’s Three Social Thunderstorms for 2012 appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

I am pleased to announce that we are moving SocialGumbo World HQ back to New Orleans over the next week!

One unfortunate side effect of this is that I will not be able to provide as rapid a response to new inquiries, please give me a few days and I will get back to you. Thanks in advance for being patient.

The past three years in Cincinnati have added a lot of amazing new people to my circles, and rest assured that I will remain in touch with all of you.

In the meantime I have sixteen tons of packing to do and tons of logistics to juggle. Regular blogging will re-commence after the 21st when we are safely set up in the Crescent City!

The post Relocation appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.

The post New Numbers From Nielsen appeared first on SocialGumbo, LLC.