By Juliana Bain

Juliana – ACT | The App Association’s communications and membership intern here, back in Washington, D.C., for the summer! I just finished my first year at Cornell University, where I was spoiled by easy access to professors, teammates, and friends. On campus, my squad could roll out of our twin-XL beds at 9:31 a.m., be eating breakfast inside the dining hall at 9:34 a.m. and still make it to our 10:10 a.m. classes on time. It took me less than 20 minutes to walk to professors’ office hours, ten minutes to walk to fencing practice, and best of all, my best friend lived down the hall.

On May 22nd, we took our last finals, and on May 23rd, we shed more than a few tears as we exchanged, “see ya in August.” My best friend flew home to San Francisco, and my parents drove me home to Washington, D.C. While I won’t have the same convenience of being on campus, apps have helped bridge the distance. Here are a few of my favorites for keeping in touch this summer:

  • Snapchat & Bitmoji: My friends and I use Snapchat to send life updates and to maintain Snapchat “streaks,” or when you and a friend snap each other for more than three consecutive days. My favorite Snapchat accessory is Bitmoji, a resource for making custom avatars that can be included in emails, texts, Slack messages, and snaps. If the friend I’m snapping also has Bitmoji, we can send Bitmoji stickers of our avatars interacting.Snapchat also helps me stay up-to-date on current events through Snapchat Discover, which provides condensed entertainment articles and news stories from a host of sources including CNN, National Geographic, and Vogue that can be shared with individuals or groups. Through this feature, my friends and I can make sure we know about the same news stories (and pop culture updates) to discuss when we connect.
  • Fitbit: In the name of fitness, my college friends and I compete in weekly step count challenges, accessible through the Fitbit app. Despite our geographical distance, the app connects us and helps us encourage each other to reach our fitness goals through a weekly leaderboard where you can see who is reaching their step goals, and who is falling short.In addition to an alarm in the morning to wake me up, my Fitbit buzzes to remind me to move and stay active throughout the day. The alarm and reminder settings are both helpful parts of the app.
  • Piazza: Piazza connects students, teaching assistants, and professors in a setting where anyone can post a question and everyone can see the answer. Piazza enables professors to provide clarity on frequently asked questions in a group setting, as well as provide answers to more nuanced student inquiries about labs or homework.Piazza proved especially useful for me at the end of the semester. When professors’ inboxes were overflowing, and I had already gone home for the summer, I was able to keep in touch with my class even when office hours were a six hour drive away.
  • GroupMe: I use GroupMe for all my group messages – fencing team, academic clubs, friend groups, study groups, you name it – because it works across device platforms and has a nice web app. GroupMe keeps all my friends connected in real time, even if we aren’t in the same location or on the same platform.
  • Find My Friends: Many of my closest friends share their locations through iPhone’s Find My Friends app. Without spamming our GroupMe group chat, I know who’s vacationing in Yosemite or who’s in Midtown when I make my next trip to New York City.
  • LinkedIn: This summer I have the privilege of interning at the App Association, and I’m meeting a lot of cool professionals whom I won’t see on a regular basis when I return to Ithaca. Expressing an interest in what a person does, keeping in contact, and building a professional network is as simple as sending a connect request through the LinkedIn app.
  • Instagram:  Aside from posting pictures of pretty acai bowls and summer sunsets, my friends use the Instagram Direct feature to direct message (DM) and privately share interesting or funny posts. In addition to sharing posts from the feed, Instagram Direct enables users to share plain text, locations, and uploaded photos. These are the best DMs I received this week: cats @cats_of_instagram and cooking @buzzfeedtasty. When we can’t share funny videos in person, Instagram Direct does the job.
  • HouseParty: The HouseParty app creates “spontaneous togetherness” through a group video chat of up to eight people. Opening the app alerts your friends that you are “in the house,” and friends can join the party with a single tap. For longer calls with just one friend, I stick to Apple’s FaceTime app.

With friends across the globe, from New Delhi to Sacramento to Nairobi, we must wait until August for in-person interactions. But for the summer, apps will seamlessly keep us in touch.