For this week's Vine challenge, imagine the ways tech could improve your everyday routine.
Dream up the perfect app and demonstrate it in a six-second video. Think: an instant ATM on your phone for when the food truck you're ordering from is cash-only. Or, a camera extension that lists a meal's nutritional information with a quick snap. Maybe even a hidden projector app that will allow you to turn any room into a movie theater with just your smartphone in hand.
SEE ALSO: Your best throwback photos and vintage Vines for our MashFlix challenge
Mashable is partnering with CA Technologies to bring you this challenge, hosted by Matt Willis' studio @yelldesign.
Willis, an Australian native, specializes in stop-motion animation — his team created this Vine, illustrating a 3D food printing app.
"We spend so much time using apps these days, the interactions we have — like swiping, zooming — can be translated to the real world in simple actions everyone understands," Willis said. "Imagine being able to swipe through flavors of food, or type your instant meal into a laptop!"
To enter the challenge, submit your video by Monday, June 29 at 10 a.m. ET using the hashtag#RewriteAppPromo. One lucky contestant will win an Apple Watch Sport. Mashable will also revine some of our favorite submissions, and feature more in a follow-up post.
News app Circa, once a media darling for its mobile-first approach, has announced that it is going on an "indefinite hiatus" after it was unable to find someone to buy the company.
In a Medium post entitled "Farewell to Circa News," CEO Matt Galligan admitted that while they had succeeded in their goals of making a high-quality mobile news platform, Circa had failed to become a viable business.
SEE ALSO: Circa Wants to Make It Easier to Follow Breaking News
"Indeed, though a failure to build a business out of the product we created is now our fate there is still so much to look at and consider a success," he wrote.
Circa launched the first version of its app in October 2012 with the express purpose of creating a mobile-first news reader. The company had an editorial staff that aggregated and curated news into brief snippets that could then be weaved together. Users could also "follow" a story to receive notifications about updates.
Galligan noted that some of Circa's innovation has helped influence a new generation of news apps.
"We’re well aware that many of the concepts that Circa News introduced to the market are being found in a number of other news outlets, though sincerely we hope that those ideas which we pioneered continue to be an inspiration for others," he wrote.
Circa has raised around $6 million in funding in a variety of small rounds, and had reportedly been seeking to raise another $8 million in a Series A round. The company had not made much of an effort to raise money, with CEO Matt Galligan calling 2015 "the year of monetization." It had been exploring the introduction of native ads.
Anthony De Rosa, editor in chief of Circa, also penned a post that appeared on his personal website, lamenting the closure.
"We got some stuff wrong, but there’s a hell of a lot we got right," he wrote.
De Rosa also made a pointed reference to some of Circa's investors, whom he alleged had made it difficult to properly pay the company's staff.
"Finally, I want to thank the majority of our investors, who believed in us enough to write a check. There are some investors making it difficult to get our team paid for services rendered. Be assured I won’t stand by idle if they’re not made whole," he wrote.
Circa started with a considerable amount of buzz, having been started by Galligan, who had previously founded location infrastructure startup SimpleGeo, and Ben Huh, who had been CEO of Internet culture company Cheezburger. It attracted a seed investment from notable venture capitalists and founders including Tumblr's David Karp and David Cohen and David Tisch of Techstars. The app was well received, making the Apple and Android's lists of best apps of 2013.
The failure of Circa led some to wonder if standalone news apps had been proven to be an unviable business.
Reports first emerged in April from Fortune that Circa was looking for a buyer after it was unable to attract any fresh investment.
Circa had until recently still been improving its main news app project. In September, Circa released the third version of its app. Circa had stopped updating its app on June 21.
Galligan left the door open for some of Circa to live on in some capacity.
"As a company, we’re still working through an opportunity to keep the technology and spirit of Circa alive," he wrote.
A key component of being professional is organisation, yet many business practices seem outdated and cumbersome in today's technology-driven world. From holding onto receipts for expense reporting to filing business cards away for networking opportunities, there's a lot to keep track of. It's time to simplify.
SEE ALSO: Don't panic: 6 tips for being productive without Wi-Fi
1. TripIt
Travel can be stressful, and travel for business even more so. TripIt alleviates this stress by compiling all of your travel documents in one place to create a business trip itinerary. Simply forward all of your confirmation emails, including flights, restaurant reservations and car rentals, to the TripIt address and the app automatically organises your schedule — putting your entire trip in one, easily accessible place.
The app removes the need to flip through various inboxes, remember passwords or add travel dates and details to your calendar. This master itinerary includes time, date and confirmation numbers as well as weather predictions, driving directions and maps. Synced throughout your devices, your travel plans are also available offline, so you can reference your outlined journey while on the go or in the air.
2. Waze
IMAGE: WINDOWS PHONE APP STORE WAZE
When you’re driving somewhere unfamiliar you may not know the shortcuts, and when it come to business, being professional and on time go hand in hand. If traffic gets in your way, Waze helps you get around it, showing you alternative routes vetted by other drives on the road with you. Warnings from fellow drivers let you avoid accidents, road debris and even speed traps, making your daily commute or business trip more efficient and timely. These shorter routes can even save you money on gas.
The voice command navigation calculates the fastest route based on community-sourced information that updates in real-time. When you pass a reported obstacle or accident, the app asks you to vet the information and in-turn help those en route behind you. Talk about paying it forward.
3. Expensify
Streamline your expense reports with Expensify by citing, photographing and curating your expenses on the go. No more receipts to keep filed away for the end of the month, simply take a picture and throw them away thus keeping your expenses up-to-date. Forward any electronic receipts or confirmations to the designated address for easy additions to the pre-existing records.
Working from home or remotely? The app also reports hours worked with associated pay rate and tracks your miles driven, flight itinerary and travel arrangements. Easily submit your expenses at the end of the month without hassle.
4. Job Compass
IMAGE: WINDOWS PHONE APP STORE JOB COMPASS
Time for a career change? Maybe you're moving to a new city or just looking for new opportunities. Find job openings based on location using Job Compass. Simply enter your desired zip code and search terms and you’re on your way to a new job.
With millions of listings in over 55 countries, Job Compass streamlines your job search by narrowing the scope and helping you find your next move. Sourced from non-location focused job boards like Indeed.com, the listings on Job Compass are organized visually to help you see your professional future on a map.
5. Track My Life
Figure out where you spend your time using Track My Life. The app runs automatically in the background of your phone and determines your travel, what locations you are at most frequently, and from this, creates data that you can use to maximize your time and daily efficiency. This app doesn't only help you streamline your professional life, but also helps you find any imbalances in your daily schedule and make simple changes.
It quantifies your daily routine in a way that provides concrete room for alterations. Maybe you travel too much, or haven't taken a vacation day in the last year. If working in an hourly or travel-heavy position, use Track My Life to ensure you are earning maximum compensation for your daily work. Overtime, you can track gradual lifestyle changes, or find where they may be needed.
6. CamCard
IMAGE: WINDOWS PHONE APP STORE CAMCARD
Make professional networking easier with digital business card storage on CamCard. Exchange e-business cards with QR code scanning, save paper cards by taking photos and store all of your contacts in one place that syncs to the cloud, making it easily accessible from any device.
Rather than enter contact information into your phone manually from a business card, simply snap a photo and watch as the information is generated into a CamCard contact listing where you can make notes, tag, search and share cards. CamCard and electronic business cards save money, time and paper while simplifying the social side of your professional life.
