The Sauce Issue 14 - June 2014 | Page 3

Through Natasha’s Lens IS IT HOT? This month, Deborah Reid looks a ways to keep you happier when you’re sitting in front of a computer screen, or when you’re stuck trying to multi-task between devices. The screen: sort of feels like an extension of you some days, doesn’t it? Whether it’s your smartphone, tablet, e-reader or laptop, our days (and jobs) can often be taken up staring at a screen. Apparently, 6 in 10 Brits are sleep deprived due to excessive smartphone and computer use – too much blue light from these devices keep you awake later and interfere with your quality of sleep. This is because it prevents your body from releasing melatonin, a chemical in your body that helps you sleep. So shouldn’t we try and ease the strain on our eyes in some way? F.lux is software that aims to ease the strain on your eyes by removing blue and green light from your computer screen. The lighting of your screen basically adjusts depending on the time of day. You can also adjust it manually. But once you’ve programmed it with your time zone and the lighting that you have, it’ll do the rest. Especially helpful for when you first set up in the morning, and if you’re working late at night. Even more important, if your sleep is being affected by using your computer or smartphone, this should help to stop that from happening, give it a try! – JustGetFlux.com for more! TOP TOOLS TECH HEADS EVENT This month I donned the role of Head Networker to rub shoulders with CMOs at the Tech Heads launch event. Once I finished rehearsing my Octopus Group spiel and had sufficiently stalked LinkedIn attendees on the RSVP list, I was ready to dazzle our prospects. The event kicked off with an introduction from John Hornell at Brightfire, followed by Billy who summed up the ‘Human CIO’ for everyone in attendance and drove much of the content home. After a practical takeaways session with Joe Chernov, VP of Content @HubSpot, where he addressed what ‘passive consumption’ means and how marketers can be ‘mobile mindful’, a panel debate then ensued, with Bryan Glick from Computer Weekly and Duncan Brown from PAC joining our presenters on stage. The audience was left to mull over the concept that successful CIOs today are business people as opposed to tech folk, as the event closed with networking and drinks. Natasha’s key observations: • CMOs still use pen & paper to make notes! • Influencer marketing is of interest • Toilet breaks are advisable Next month we’ll share a follow-up on #TechHeads14 and Inbound Marketing Afternoon, as well as how you can share learnings with your clients and encourage them to look over the eBook’s findings! POCKET: A great app that lets you easily save articles, videos, blog posts and any web content for viewing later. You can also sync it across your phone, tablet or computer. — pocket NUTSHELL MAIL: If you monitor and manage a client’s Twitter or Facebook, etc. this is great time saver in that it gives you a daily summary email of the social activity happening around the brand. — www.nutshellmail.com WORKFLOWY: This is so simple yet so useful. In simple terms, it’s a to-do list tool. You can download the app to your phone and sign into Workflowy on a web browser. If you’re on the move and suddenly remember an action, you can use your phone to update your list, then when at work, just use the web browser version. It also sends you a daily summary email of completed actions & new actions which is quite handy. — workflowy.com JUNE 2014 | THE SAUCE | 3