Your New Social Media App

Have you ever been lounging around, wondering what your friends were up to but were too embarrassed to randomly text them what’s up? Well, I’ve got the app for you.

Be Real is a photo app that is very similar to Pic Your Moment and One Second a Day – it gives you a notification once a day to post what you are doing at that exact moment. The difference is, everyone with the app gets the notification at the same time. You then have two minutes to post a snap of that moment, and what’s cool is that it takes a picture on the front-facing camera and the back-facing camera simultaneously. The picture also disappears once the next notification pops up.

It’s not the type of social media app that you spend hours on. The posts are limited to your friends (although there is a different discovery feed of random people), as the idea is to “Be Real” by showing whatever you’re doing at that exact moment. Now of course my mother would say, “Well you’re not being real because you’re taking the realness out of the moment by feeling the need to post it on social media instead of just being in the present.” Okay, Milly. Maybe you’re right. But also, it’s indescribably fun to see what your friends are up to at that second.

Me being boring

Me being slightly exciting

Additionally, Be Real breaks down some of the traditional expectations of social media. There is no way to edit the photo, and you can’t upload something from your camera roll as you can do with One Second a Day. This allows for raw moments that are not aimed at getting likes (although there is a like feature) but instead at engaging with your friends to see what they’re doing in real-time.

In all honesty, when I first got the app, I assumed that most of my friends would post themselves constantly having fun and doing exciting things. I was worried that I would feel left out or sad I had a “boring” life. In reality, when I scroll through my feed, all of the posts are similar - the common post is either studying or being in bed relaxing. It was refreshing and relieving to see that my life wasn’t “boring” or sad and that social media apps like Instagram only show the highlight reels of our lives. Be Real shows the everyday monotony that is both comforting and in itself exciting to share with those closest to you.

Other schools have already made Be Real popular across their campuses. Can we also get UChicago to Be Real?

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Helpful Apps for Midterm Season

Midterm season never seems to end, it mostly just slowly drags on into 10th week and before you know it, it’s time for finals. As you juggle any number of tasks every day, from friends and family, to academics and actually getting enough sleep, it’s often overwhelming to stay focused and motivated while also maintaining a healthy work-life balance. See below for five apps to help you manage stress and increase productivity as you tackle midterms and keep many other important things in your life organized!

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1. Remember the Milk

WHAT IT OFFERS: This is a task list manager that reminds you about your to-dos. Enter the label, due dates, priority, and repeat properties for each task and you will get reminded through email, text, and other mobile apps. You can also break a task into sub-tasks or attach files from Google Drive or Dropbox to keep files handily organized alongside the related tasks.

COST: Free with $39.99/year pro subscription option

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2. Forest

WHAT IT OFFERS: This app helps you stop procrastinating and stay focused on your task. Whenever you are on a task, you set a timer and plant a seed in Forest. The seed grows into a tree over time. However, if you access anything other than the app on your phone, your tree will wither. Your forest becomes lusher as time passes. It prevents you from being distracted by your phone and provides sense of accomplishment to keep yourself motivated.

COST: $1.99

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3. SelfControl

WHAT IT OFFERS: Similar to Forest, SelfControl helps you stay focused by blocking certain websites of your choice by a given time. You will be unable to access the webs on the block list until the time expires, even if you restart your computer or browser. Customize which websites to block and avoid digital diversions.

COST: Free for iOS

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4. 30/30

WHAT IT OFFERS: When you are managing several tasks at the same time, it’s difficult to maintain maximum productivity. That’s where 30/30 comes in. This app divides tasks into 30 minutes time period with 30 minutes of break in between. By repeating the work-break cycle, you can force yourself to stay focused in the given time constraint. It also customizes your tasks list by time, color, label, and icon. Completely gesture-based, 30/30 helps you to stay on track

COST: Free for iOS

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5. Nature Sounds Relax and Sleep

WHAT IT OFFERS: Want an effective relaxation technique? This app allows you to reduce level of anxiety, stress, and depression through audio therapy. You choose from a list of 6 quality relaxing sound from nature—ocean sounds, thunder, night in jungle, rain, bird sounds, and waterfall. These sounds effects help you to take a break from work and increase concentration.

COST: Free for iOS and Android

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Will Vine Ever Make a Comeback?

Think back to 2012. Things were simple back then. Instead of Instagram videos and stories, we were watching a small Shawn Mendes singing six-second covers, King Bach accusing literally everyone of stealing, and watching the best content to be created over the century… All thanks to Vine. This short-lived app immortalized the peak of meme culture for my generation with its ability to cater to our short attention spans and deadpan sense of humor.

It was only when Twitter purchased the app and led it to its demise when I truly realized that Vine was there for me when I needed it, but quickly forgotten when I came to college. Of course, the unending sense of nostalgia has me eternally subscribed to the billions of Vine compilations on Youtube.

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Naturally I was happy back in 2016 when I heard the rumors of Vine 2.0, which was supposed to be a self-funded reboot for the app of the generation. I’ve been waiting patiently for this comeback. So almost two years after this tease on Twitter, I’m still wondering: where is Vine?

A little bit of research showed me the worst of my fears. One of the original co-creators of Vine, Dom Hoffman tweeted earlier this year that Vine 2.0 would be postponed indefinitely. His reasoning was due to the difficulty of self-funding. Hoffman predicts that the high interest in rebooting Vine has skyrocketed the estimated costs, and that the scale for launching would be unrealistic for its current funds.

Vine probably won’t come back, but maybe it’s for the best? Social media environments have changed so much, and maybe the market for this kind of app simply isn’t appropriate anymore.

One of the biggest issues with the original Vine was its quick turnaround for content creators. The most popular creators such as Logan Paul, Lele Pons, Shawn Mendes, and Tori Kelly have taken on their own brands, label contracts, and other influencer-type careers now. Vine’s highly commercial transition made the content less authentic and favorable for many, leaving Vine empty with the downfall of second-rate comedians or those posting with sponsorships in all their content.

It’s hard to say when Vine 2.0 will actually launch or whether it will be burdened by the same problems of its predecessor. I’m not sure, but I’ll stick to these compilations for now:

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Find your Famous Portrait Doppelgänger with Google's Latest App

Ever wanted to know your famous counterpart in the world of portraiture and fine art? With the Google Arts and Culture app, you can take a selfie and get matched with a famous portrait. Whether you're a modern day Mona Lisa or could've been one Michelangelo's contemporary muses, the app will even tell you the percentage to which the two photos look alike. Read more about the app here and don't forget to share your new likeness with friends!

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Interview Series: How Hintd Plans to Shake up the Online Shopping Scene

Welcome to MODA's Interview Series, where we feature influencers and leaders in the fashion industry in the Chicago area and beyond to discuss their design inspirations, their creative backgrounds and what it means to be a self-starter in the fashion world today.  

Lucy Danziger and her team wanted to create an online platform that would take the guesswork out of gift giving. Their solution is Hintd, a brand new shopping app launching this fall that serves as both a curated e-shopping platform as well as a streamlined, user-driven online registry and wishlist. We sat down with the Hintd team to talk about the app's conception, how they hope to grow their platform, and their exciting Brand Ambassadors program.

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First things first, please introduce your team! How did you all get involved with Hintd? Were you always set on pursuing careers in fashion and tech?

Lucy Danziger was the former Editor-in-Chief of SELF Magazine for over 12 years. Through her Condé Nast years, she worked with a vast array of talented young women, many of whom are now in magazines and digital publishing, so when she started Hintd, she called on her former editors and colleagues and several joined.

The first person to join the team was her long-time colleague at SELF magazine, Francesca Castagnoli, fashion writer, market editor and curatorial eye, who had worked at Harper’s Bazaar and Condé Nast, as well as helping launch Gilt Home and writing for many magazines over the years. Both Lucy and Francesca share a love of helping women get the life they want, and envisioning that life through shopping for things that bring meaning and delight. Francesca joined Hintd at the beginning as Chief of Content and now is in charge of curating all lists and creating the beautiful rich discoverable content on the site.

Lucy Danziger, founder of Hintd; image via WWD

Lucy Danziger met Sophie Smith, when she was at Kate Spade and had just worked on six continents growing Kate Spade. That company was about to launch shoppable pins on Pinterest, and Sophie realized right away that Hintd was a whole new kind of experience–part user driven, part curated. When Sophie heard about Hintd, she knew she had to be involved because it put the consumer in the middle of the conversation. She joined the team as Director of Marketing.

Lastly, Claire Wardlaw, Content and Operations Coordinator, came to Hintd from her job in fashion retail, as an assistant buyer, and has taken over much of the operational and editorial support for the team and app.

Hintd is a brand new app launching this fall—what inspired you to create your own online shopping interface? 

When I was the Editor of a magazine, various people would send me gifts, usually orchids, which died within four days. I always thought everyone should have a list–like an everyday registry without the bride–since it would be so helpful to know what people loved, including charities they support, so you could not waste money and get something useful or meaningful.

I have also always believed in rewarding yourself and I always pushed that concept at Self. If you are treating yourself right, exercising and being responsible to yourselves and others, working hard and making strides toward your goals, you deserve to reward yourself. With either a gift or experience like a massage or something you rarely treat yourself to.

When I was graduating college a woman in my grade showed up at breakfast one morning with a huge sapphire and diamond ring and I gasped. “You’re engaged”? She said “No, I just really wanted a ring and I bought this for myself as a graduation present.” I thought: so smart. So many women get engaged when they just should buy themselves a ring, but not get stuck with the wrong guy! It was a revelation to me. That women could just treat themselves to jewelry and not wait for a man to buy it for them. Hintd believes in telling the universe what you want and then going and getting it–on your own terms.

Hintd's interface allows you to create themed registries or wish lists that suit every occasion, whether your merely on the hunt for cool workout gear, brainstorming bridesmaid gifts or trying to put together a graduate gift guide for all your clueless relatives!

Hintd is pitched as an app that will revolutionize the world of online shopping; how exactly will it go about doing so? What distinguishes Hintd from its competitors?

For most women, sitting in front of a screen and shopping can be both isolating and overwhelming. I need a dress for a wedding, so I go to a retail site and see hundreds of dresses and I don’t like any of them. Suddenly you feel out of it–what are my friends wearing? Long or short? Sexy or straight-laced? I just exit the page, and don’t buy anything. Or other times I like shopping in the context of a blog or online fashion story, and when I see what I like and go to open tabs, but not transact at that moment–I’ll close out the tabs and lose track of where the items were. When I finally am in the mood to buy something, or have figured out what I want, often I can’t find what I wanted in the first place.

Hintd solves these problems, and more. It’s like having a dialogue with your friends–the ones with really good taste, instead of shopping alone. On Hintd, you see what friends and influencers have added, and you get to become a recommender or influencer in your own set. Each hint or list is like saying: Here’s what I want, what do you want? It’s like shopping with friends since you can compare and comment and have fun collaborating on lists. We bring the social back to shopping online. Collaborative lists let you plan a party, a trip or any other event with friends and make your list together.

The obvious competition is Pinterest, but that’s often very frustrating as a shopping experience, since most of the leads take you to blogs and content that is not where to buy. You can spend hours and never find what you liked in the first place, or it’s out of stock. Pinterest is a scrapbooking site, where you collect ideas. Then marketers see what you are pinning and put their messaging around it.

On Hintd, which is designed for shopping and sharing, you can find what you want and click through to buy it. We have built a Chrome extension and an up-loader tool that will pull in all the relevant information and save it. The experience is an enjoyable discovery process, a peer-to-peer site. Hintd brings the social experience of going shopping with your girlfriends online and allows you to keep track of everything you want in one place, without feeling the pressure to buy immediately.

Describe an average day working at the Hintd offices.

Hintd’s offices are in Tribeca’s Spring Studios, a bustling co-working and event space for fashion and tech companies. With fashion as a main driver for the space, we often are amid season previews and debuts, photo shoots, and events that seamlessly meld the worlds of tech and fashion. It’s fun never knowing what to expect, but despite the excitement, we keep a fairly steady office routine.

We get in at 10 a.m., catch up, outline the tasks for the day, plan the newsletter, curate lists and sell sponsorship–plus work to grow the site. Around 1 p.m., we step out for lunch in one of the many tasty spots nearby (often ending with amazing cookies from Café Clementine), and sometimes we end the day on the rooftop terrace to decompress and have a glass of wine, while we plan for the day and week to come.

What are some of the day-to-day challenges of running a start up?

While growth and development are exciting, it can be nerve-racking as well to not have the security of a giant company, and raising money is always challenging, though we suddenly have a lot more interest in what we are building. We work with developers who are off-site, and endure some degree of delay with the site build itself, but really the positives far outweigh the negatives.

With a small team and no corporate ladder to deal with, we can produce content very quickly and efficiently. If we decide to make a change in the content, we do it. The company is nimble because we work together, and can act fast when news or events come up that drives a list idea, or a new growth partnership opportunity. And despite the distance from our developers, they’re incredible and our system of staying up to date with them is fantastic (thanks, Slack)!

What are some of the best parts of running and working for a start up?

All the freedom and ability to move fast that allow you to be nimble and ahead of the game. How often do you say to yourself: I wish I could convince my boss to do X (where X is something new, innovative and risk taking)? We just do that thing, since we see that as our job, to lead and innovate, make partnerships and grow. The things we don’t think of to grow the company and make an impact in the community are what scare me, since it’s never done, never enough and never over for the day.

Who is Hintd’s target audience? Why is an app interface the best way to reach these shoppers?

Hintd is actually accessible for anyone who loves shopping, organization, discovery, and being social! We say our target is 18-34 year olds, but we really try to make sure our platform has something for everyone. So many women say to me: I may not be your demographic but I love it! 

Tell us a little about the Hintd Ambassador program. What would an ideal candidate look like?

Ambassadors are those influencers who love to tell their friends about what is new and cool, so we try to sign up women or men who like to try the latest app or idea and then let their friends know about it. I can tell you who told me about Instagram first, so many years ago. I know that there are people who love to be early adapters. The Ambassadors make lists, let their friends know about Hintd and try to spread the word in their social set. We ask them to help sign up at least 10 people but how they do that is up to them. Please let us know if you are interested in joining, by emailing editors@hintd.com and we can help you get started. We also like to mentor and give advice about careers in publishing and marketing, digital or otherwise. 

Looking towards the future, do you have any ideas (or hopes!) with regards to how Hintd will continue to grow and expand?

We hope to be the shopping platform for the next generation. We want this to be your social shopping site, so it’s really up to you how we grow. Hopefully you will invite all your friends, like Venmo but for shopping.

Finally, do you have any advice for individuals interested in pursuing a career in fashion, tech, or even launching their own startups? 

The truth is if you are passionate about your choice of career you will succeed. And if you’re not you probably should find a new choice. The most successful people I know would show up for free because they love what they do. Love your work, the saying goes, and you will never work a day in your life. That, and meet everyone, be inclusive, and share information and leads. Truth is this is one big happy family and community, and if you help others, they help you back.

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Start your own Hintd account today and see what all the buzz is about! Download the app here! 

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Higher Learning with Highbrow

So in case your inbox wasn't already overflowing from subscription emails (we promise you'll thank us down the road or in your next sosc class), we've found another service that will help make you a more well-rounded student (and human-being) in just a few minutes a day. Think of it like a Ted Talk in your inbox every morning - engaging, diverse and bite size learning on cool topics.

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Highbrow features hundreds of mini courses covering a wide variety of subjects, from the academic to the professional to the personal. Offerings include "Cyber Security Basics", "The Secret of Body Language", "A Short History of the Universe", "History of European Epidemics", "Superfoods You Should Know About" and more, spanning 12 topics from art, health, and productivity, to science, technology, languages and travel. Courses are ten days long and broken up into 5 minute lessons perfect for absorbing along with your morning coffee.

For $4 a month, you can get a premium subscription and gain access to exclusive courses and 100% of their course catalog, all ad-free. Half of the fee goes to the Highbrow "teachers" who design the courses, many of whom are prestigious professors at top universities!   

Sign up for Highbrow here!

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11 Apps For Adulting 101

There's no point in trying to deny that for most of us, our cellphone is basically an extension of our hands or about as vital as oxygen for our day-to-day functioning. Go beyond Snapchat or Instagram (aka the easiest way to turn a 5 minute "study break" into a 40 minute scroll session) and check out the following apps that make being (an almost) grown up that much easier. 

Finance

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• Mint: Get a handle on your personal finances with this handy app that brings together all the different aspects of your financial life. Track your daily spending, pay bills, and keep an eye on your credit score all in one spot. Mint even offers weekly summaries and warnings when you go over the budget you set for yourself. 
• Splitwise: Think of it as Venmo for grown-ups. Splitwise helps you split shared expenses with roommates so that everyone pays their fair share. It also includes helpful reminder emails and redirects money owed as needed. 
• Plates: Actually integrated into the Splitwise app, Plates makes the tricky task of splitting the bill between friends at dinner that much easier. Simply enter each dish, including shared appetizers and such, and Plates will calculate how much everyone owes counting tip and taxes. 
• Robinhood: While that #brokecollegelife feeling may be all too real, it's never too soon to start investing, even if you only set aside coffee money once a week or use a birthday check. Robinhood lets you trade stocks without charging a commission fee and stay on top of your portfolio with real time market data and notifications for important market events. 

Political

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• Countable: If 2016 was the year of realizing anything, it's that politics matter and you can have an impact. Register your voting district on Countable, select the issues that matter to you the most and you will be notified about upcoming related bills and how to get in touch with your local representatives. 
• Politico: The election may be over, but stay in the know all year round with the app from this non-partisan news source. With a focus on the White House and Congress, the app includes extensive article coverage, videos and morning newsletters.   
• Buypartisan: Put your money where your mouth is with the Buypartisan app that scans product barcodes and displays the political donations of the company's CEO, Board of Directors and employees. 

Useful

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• Sleep Cycle: While it might be a badge of honor at UChicago to boast about how little sleep you got, sleep is a vital part of any healthy lifestyle. Sleep Cycle tracks your sleep to wake you up at the lightest part of your cycle so that you start the day feeling fresh and well-rested.  
• Myfitnesspal: Hop back on the healthy New Year's resolutions bandwagon with this app, which allows you to set fitness goals and helps you achieve them. Track what you eat with a calorie counter that has food from grocery stores and nearby restaurants on hand. 
• Tiny Scanner: Turn your iPhone into a portable scanner and always have your important documents saved as PDFs in your pocket. An easy to use interface allows you to easily share documents, adjust the brightness, and even password protect the most important documents. 
• Cam Card: Keep track of the business cards you accumulate during the eternal internship hunt with Cam Card which allows you to scan cards, exchange e-cards, and manage your professional contacts with tags, notes and a search function. 

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A Snapchat Fashion Campaign? How Tech is Changing the Fashion Industry

It's hard to ignore the many ways in which social media and app interfaces have revolutionized the world of high fashion–from redefining the meaning of ready-to-wear (many designers allow their collections to be purchased the minute their looks hit the runway) to propelling new faces and brands to the forefront of the industry through their skillful navigation of platforms such as Instagram.

It seems as if user friendly, fast fashion has reached an all time fever pitch–from designers scouting their next cover girls through Instagram competitions to unveiling campaigns online or over social media weeks before their printed release. Most recently, Snapchat became an essential platform for sharing the ins and outs of fall/winter ready-to-wear fashion weeks around the world. The app highlighted city specific "Snapstories" for the New York, London, Paris and Milan Fashion Weeks, which featured a compilation of Snaps from famous bloggers, models, designers and show attendees. Magazines also took matters into their own hands, with Vogue and W magazine inviting industry insiders to take over their accounts to document each day.

Leveraging social media has become an integral aspect of the continued success for fashion industry favorites like Lucky Blue Smith and Hailey Baldwin; image via

Snapchat, it appears, is the latest go to platform for major fashion labels. Tommy Hilfiger recently announced over Instagram a competition that offers five lucky fans the opportunity to join current campaign stars Hailey Baldwin and Lucky Blue Smith in Hilfiger's latest #HilfigerDenim photoshoot. The instructions simply prompt Snapchatters to tell the label why they deserve a coveted spot on the campaign in a creative way, and of course, under the constraint's of Snapchat's ten second video limit.

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Similarly, British brand Burberry is utilizing Snapchat as a platform for sharing their latest Mr. Burberry mens fragrance and grooming products campaign. The advertisements can be viewed via the Snapchat Discovery feature, which was also utilized to advertise the brand's fall/winter collection during London Fashion Week. Burberry and Snapchat are also collaborating on Snapcodes—"scannable in-store promotions that enable consumers to unlock Mr. Burberry-themed content using mobile devices" (RetailDIVE).

There is, of course, a caveat to this mutually beneficial merger between fashion and tech. Among other issues, these collaborations frequently eliminate or throw into question the role of traditional advertising, marketing and print industries within the schema of the fashion and technology.

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Forq - the New Instagram Just for Foodies

Whether your Insta "theme" is #foodporn or you just love sharing a perfectly composed brunch shot, there's something so satisfying about sharing a beautiful pic of delicious food. Forq is a new app that caters to foodies of all stripes. Share your "snack shots" with the rest of the world and then spend the rest of the afternoon drooling over everyone else's treats. Think of Forq as an Instagram just for food with a few special upgrades. You can share your pics, "like" other people's beautifully plated dinners and include specific tags to label your photos. The app offers the option to scroll through your photos and will automatically save any food images to your draft folder so you can publish them with just a swipe of the finger.

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Forq aims to be more than just a social media platform of artfully curated cappuccino photos. The company's mission, to “celebrate, share, and remember” food, means they are focused on the whole foodie experience. This extends to recipes. Forq will transcribe any recipe you take a picture of (whether handwritten or from a cookbook) and store it so you can review it later at the supermarket or share with friends. It will even calculate the nutritional facts and appropriate serving sizes for even your grandma's special pie recipe.

The cheery red and white interface is pretty straightforward. You can create a profile, include a photo and a bio, share recipes publicly or privately and organize them into themed "collections".

Maybe ease up on making your friends jealous with a shot of last night's perfectly plated dessert and head over to Forq and its community of foodies.

Free for iOS users

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What are your favorite new apps? Let us know in the comments below!

12 Apps You Need to Try Right Now

There are days when it feels like you probably spend more time on your phone than interacting with real people (to be honest, that sounds like most days). We've shared some of our favorites to try and be productive during that time, and no, Snapchat doesn't count as "productive" nor does perfecting your selfie. But beyond the usual suspects of social media, there are so many apps out there that can help you do anything from brush up on a foreign language to extricate you from a bored-to-tears-nothing-in-common blind date. And the best part? They're (almost) all free!

Health

Clue: Never be caught by surprise in white jeans and a surprise visit by Mother Nature! Clue is designed to help you track your period and fertility while eschewing the traditional pink frilly design of most menstrual cycle tracking services. You can also jot down notes about your mood, the pain, and sexual activity all in a clean and simple interface.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Mind Body: Maybe you just can't get out of bed at 7am but love the thrill of kickboxing or you're a die-hard spin fan, Mind Body allows you to find and book fitness classes from around the city on your phone. Read reviews, search for yoga studios nearby or check out deals in the neighborhood. Mind Body can also connect to your FitBit to help you track your progress and stay on track to achieve your fitness goals.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Plant Nanny: New Year's resolutions, including one to drink more water, have long since fallen by the wayside. Get back on track with Plant Nanny, a cute app that encourages you to drink more water in order to keep virtual-you-as-a-plant happy. After inputting basic information (height, weight, etc), Plant Nanny calculates how much water a day you should be drinking and sends you push notifications to keep you on track. Don't drink your designated amount and your plant starts to look sad and wimpy.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Social

Tab: Going out to dinner with friends is fun. Not so fun? Trying to split the check fairly at the end. Tab takes the fuss out of trying to figure out exactly how much everyone owes. You simply scan the check and select what you ordered and Tab calculates how much you owe including tax and tip so that you don't end up covering part of your friend's steak when you only ordered a salad.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

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Gotta Go: You walk into a blind date and can tell it's not going to end well. He looks nothing like his profile picture, can't stop talking about himself and reeks of gross cologne. You need an out ASAP without being obvious about how terrible the date is going. Your favorite naked-selfie comedian Chelsea Handler developed "Gotta Go" to help you extricate yourself from an undesirable event. It allows you to schedule a text or phone call to your own phone that can be used as "proof" that your roommate really did fall down the stairs and you need to meet her at the ER or that your friends car is being towed.

Available for free for iPhone

Game

Neko Atsume: Thanks to Taylor Swift's trailblazing, we can all be crazy cat ladies without shame. Now, you never have to part with your furry friends. Neko Atsume is a Japanese mobile game app where you try and lure cats to their yards. Ridiculous sounding? Just try it and see how unexpectedly addictive and soothing it is.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Photography

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VSCO Cam: In an age of almost Instagram saturation, where any photo uploaded to basically any platform need to have a magic wand of filtering passed over it, a mega saturated Valencia filter just looks amateur. VSCO Cam aims for more subtle tweaks to up your game. You can apply a wide range of color filters, tweak the sharpness or adjust the saturation. The design is very streamlined and minimalist and takes some time to fully appreciate all the app has to offer. More themed pre-set filters can be bought in the app but the standard ones included do just fine.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Phhhhoto: The day Facebook added GIFs to messenger was a great day indeed. And you know that if Mark Zuckerberg and Miley Cyrus are behind it, it's going to be great. Phhhoto turns your photos into fun gifs with special filter options available daily. You can easily share to other social media platforms and the platform is very intuitive.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Other

RobinHood: UChicago is the home of econ after all so get in on the excitement of free market economics (find out how truly UChicago you are here) with the RobinHood app. Stylish and slick, the app helps you buy and sell stocks without paying the usual $7 fee per trade. Fingerprint login provides extra security and a clean layout makes buying and selling shares simple and fuss free. RobinHood also amasses news from the web about the stocks so you can stay informed. Keynes would be proud.

Available for free for iPhone and Android

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DuoLingo: Something about learning from a green parrot feels distinctly elementary school but the idea of DuoLingo is to help you learn (or keep up) a new language through simple exercises every day. With lots of game like influences - "lives" that you lose if you don't pass an exercise, points for practicing every day - DuoLingo offers a fun and engaging way to learn over 20 languages, including Esperanto and soon-to-be-released Klingon (told you we were nerds).

Available for free for iPhone and Android

Colorfy: Coloring books are not just for pre-K anymore. They've become bona fide accepted ways for even adults to de-stress. Colorfy offers mandalas, puzzles, and other patterns for users to pick their colors of choice and fill in the designs. Share your artistic creations on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Available for free for iPhone and Android

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What are your favorite apps? Let us know in the comments below!

7 Apps To Make You A Better Student

Think about life before smartphones. With everything from music to shopping at the flick of a finger, and the whole world wide web tucked in your back pocket, it's hard to imagine what things were like before iPhones. But what makes for great entertainment as you wait for the CTA or in line for your morning Starbucks, can be a real distraction when it comes time to hit the books. It's so tempting to justify pausing your pset to send a Snapchat to your crush or upload a carefully-edited shot of Mansuetto to Instagram, but before you know it, your 10 second pause became five minutes and then another five and you've made no progress. Instead of throwing your phone at the bottom of your bag when you need to study, make it work for you. Here are some of our favorite apps to help make you a better, more organized (and relaxed!) student.

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1. The Skimm

While technically not an app, the Skimm is a daily newsletter delivered to your inbox every morning. Witty, concise and informative, the broad range of news bits offered - from international politics to major trending tags on social media - are perfect for reading over breakfast or in the first minutes of class as everyone settles down. The first step to being a more informed student and human being is keeping abroad with current events and the ladies behind the Skimm make that easy, painless and even enjoyable.

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2. Headspace

It's easy to get caught up in the rush of papers, midterms, psets, RSO responsibilities all while trying to balance a social life and (some) sleep. Headspace is an app that helps me you meditate and de-stress. Just 10 minutes a day of mindfulness techniques for a happier, more relaxed you. Seems easy enough right?

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3.Wunderlist

The to-do list to end all to-do lists - Wunderlist is truly the Superman of to-do lists. This app will help you keep cool and collected when it feels like you have a million things spiraling out of control. Organize your lists into folders, forward them to friends or colleagues, set reminders and even print them - all from one clean, easy to use interface.

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4. Sloth Task Manager

The hardest part of tackling a mountain of projects that need your attention is splitting up your time to manage it efficiently and effectively. Maximize your productivity with the help of the ironically named Sloth Task Manager. You simply enter your tasks and give yourself a certain amount of time to complete them. When the timer is up, time to move on to the next thing!

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5. Trello

There's something so satisfying about having all of your work organized in one spot to check it. Trello lets you organize your tasks by progress so you know exactly which tasks you have completed and which ones still need some time. Invite people, include attachments, and even a message board if it is a collaborative effort - Trello helps you stay on top of all your assignments and responsibilities without feeling panicky.

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6. Nike+ Training Club

What good is the life of the mind if there isn't a healthy body to support it. During winter quarter in particular, it can be hard to stay motived and committed to your New Year's resolutions of getting into shape; Ratner can be a real trek and the short, cold days seem made for cozy pajamas and hot chocolate. The Nike+ Training Club app, available for free on iTunes, works as a personal trainer to motivate you to hit the gym or even workout in your dorm. Get tips from trainers or friends, stream workout videos, set a timed goal, the app helps you do it all. Log and measure your hard work to see the progress you've made!

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7. SleepBetter

It's good and all to know that sleep is important and we should be getting more of it but sometimes you just need to stay up to finish that pset and rely on coffee to help you get through the next day. SleepBetter aims to help you be more aware of your own sleep habits and to maximize feelings of restfulness even if you are running on less than the recommended 8 hours. Available for Android only, you simply start a sleep session and tuck your phone under your pillow and Sleep Better takes it from there. it tracks your sleep cycles to wake up you up when you are sleeping lightly (so you feel more well-rested!) and even offers a dream diary where you can jot down your dreams from the night before.

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What are your favorite apps to help you stay focused and productive? Have you used any of these before? Let us know in the comments below!