Love and do what you will

/

In the early fifth century, Saint Augustine summarized all of human ethics in the dictum “Love and do what you will.” The happiest people have lives focused on love: of family, of friends, of others through work that serves, and in some cases of the divine as well. Research on people who wind up happy (and healthy) as they grow old shows that the most important part of life to cultivate is a series of stable, long-term love relationships.

Aquinas defines love as “to will the good of the other.” You can’t choose how much love you will get, but happiness depends more on how much you give. And what you give your love to matters just as much. 

Arthur C. Brooks writing in The Atlantic

Tuesday Tech Tools: 54 Video Editing Options

/

Adobe Premiere Pro*
An Adobe professional-level product that has become the industry standard. Easy-to-use interface. Support for 360 VR and other features, but some techniques require additional applications (such as After Effects). $19.99 a month. 

Adobe Premiere Rush
Video editing app using a range of Adobe’s editing software from cropping to creative overlays with animation overlay options. Works with multiple videos. Set the aspect ratio for your video so you can post on any platform. Add thumbnails, schedule postings. Free versions for for Android and iOS. Extra features with paid version. 

Adobe Spark*
See Creative Cloud Express. 

Clipchimp*
Makes simple video with a multi-track timeline. Works within a Chrome browser—which provides some privacy protection. A flexible product for both personal and professional users with many templates, stock audio and video, and sound effects. Not as difficult to learn as professional editing software but there is still a learning curve. It could work as first step toward programs like Adobe Premiere. Extras like picture-in-picture video a plus for educational videos. Free version or $9 a month for more options.

Clips*
This Apple app lets you quickly create social videos. Easily add text, filters, emojis, music, speech-to-text captions, and opaque transition cards to your photos or videos. Intended to be fun, though the menu layout is not entirely intuitive and it does take some time to create. User’s guidehere. Free.

CloudConvert
Converts file types. More than 200 formats for audio, video, documents, images, etc. Free usage up to 25 conversions per day.

Creative Cloud Express*
A single template-focused Adobe app (replacing Adobe Spark) that combines some of the best features from the Creative Cloud Suite for mobile and web. Quickly create everything from social media posts to promotional posters and videos with the easy-to-use drag-and-drop interface. There are soundtracks, themes, and many free photos and fonts. Assets from Photoshop and Illustrator can be utilized. Convert videos to GIFs and documents to PDFs. Great for non-professionals with little video editing experience, but not if you’re a pro looking for a full-featured video editor. Free version or $9.99 a month for more templates, photos and fonts.

Cute Cut*
Easy-to-use and powerful video editor. Add text, voiceover, music and logo. Their YouTube tutorials here. Free.

DaVinci Resolve
Video editing software with remote collaboration tools and cloud-based workflows. Features like a depth map effect, color corrector, and more. Free but the paid version, offers more effects and templates. One-time fee of $305.

Disco Videos 
A way to add cool effects like music and filters to your videos. $3.99. 

DesignLab (no longer available)
Basic video editing tool for social media posts with many templates. Three-day free trial then $9.49 a month. 

Storyluxe
This iOS app will help to create Instagram Stories with many free options. More info here.

Filmmaker Pro - Video Editor*
Video editing program for filmmakers. 19 transition options and 30 filters. Many fonts and animation stickers. Sound effects and a robust number of tools. Free. 

FlexClip
Simple but well-designed presentation-style social media video editor. Good for making quickly produced marketing. A lot like PowerPoint or Movie Maker in design. Stock audio and video with some editing options (like splitting video into two clips) not found in similar apps though videos are limited to 5 minutes. Free. More options with a $9.99 plan.

Final Cut Pro
Apple’s desktop video editing program for Macs. A big step up from iMovie (which is similar) but not the industry standard for professionals that Adobe Premiere has become but still used by many pros. Not compatible with Windows. $300. 

GoPro Quik*
Video editor by GoPro. Easy-to-use. Templated themes, useful filters, royalty-free music, and the ability to add titles and captions. Add up to 200 photos and video clips. Includes square, portrait and landscape settings. Users’ guide here and a dedicated YouTube channel here. Free but some features added with premium account.

Hitfilm
Video editing software aimed at providing a professional editing experience. Change the color balance of video, trim clips, and export in different formats. Steep learning curve for beginners but a familiar feel for those who have used pro editing software. Needs a strong computer processor. Free.

iMovie*
One of the best video-making apps with an intuitive interface. It offers two tracks of video and audio for editing on your phone or laptop. Filters and templates, crop, cut, adjust speed, and add effects to videos. Exports at 30fps only. There is a tutorial here. Free.

iStock video editor*
A Getty Image company, iStock offers not just stock photos but a video editor. There are customizable templates, users can upload their own video, images, music. The video can be downloaded and shared on virtually any platform. Free but a paid account offers royalty-free videos, images, and sound effects.

Inshot
Video & image editing app. Simple-to-use & all-in-one with basic functions: Crop, trim, change the speed, rotate your videos 360°, add filters and music, and more. Free version with intrusive ads $2.99 to remove them and the watermark. 

Kapwing
A browser-based video editor (online only-primarily for social media editing) that gives users the tools to splice combine, trim and cut video clips. Add text, images, subtitles, etc. Missing some basic options like transitions. Easy to get started but some features are hard to find. Download quality good for online, not broadcast. Free version with limitations (but no watermarks) or pro version for $17 a month. 

KineMaster 
Multi-track video editing app for iOS and Android. Lots of powerful tools: Add captions, titles, logos, edit audio and record audio to add video, filters, etc. Easy to get started with a simple interface. Free account with watermark. More info here. $4.99 a month.

Kizoa
A video editing app with outdated looks and design. One-time fee for the features you want. Free version or paid with more features starting about $30. 

Lightworks
Lots of tools for editing videos in the free version, which should satisfy most casual users. No HD option. Paid option starts at $49.99 a year.

LumaFusion*
Advanced multi-track video editor that mimics professional desktop software with 3 video/audio tracks for photos, videos, titles, and graphics. Key-framing, colour adjustment, and support for branded fonts and graphics. iOS only. Tutorials on the YouTube channel. $29.99.

Lumen5
An easy-to-use video creation platform that attempts to turn a limited number of photos and text into video for you. Free.

Magisto
Load your video clips or images, pick a style, then the AI software automatically edits them into a video. Not a video editor that you control (except for a paid plan) but great if you have a bunch of clips you don’t want to edit yourself. You give up editing control for speed. It really depends on whether you like their templates. There’s a free version but $60 a year gets you everything though there is no free trial for the paid version—which it needs. 

Mojo*
A great easy-to-use app for making professional vertical social stories to go on Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories, and Snapchat. Templates and fonts. More info here. Free. Pro version $9.99 a month.

Movavi
Video editing for casual users. Easy-to-use interface. Limited effects. $39.95.

Movie Maker Online
A poorly designed video editor with a confusing layout and intrusive advertising. Works in browsers, no registration required. Free but still not worth it.

MoviePro*
Video recording app that lets you listen live to your sound, includes manual controls for exposure, focus, and white balance. Shoot stills while recording. Has a built-in single-track video editor. Includes a wide range of video resolutions and aspect ratios, adjustable video quality, $9.99.

Online Video Cutter
Video editing tool that can trim videos, crop them, and rotate them. And nothing else. But what it does, it does well. Free or $5 a month for more features. 

PowerDirector 365 
Perhaps the best Android video editor app with special effects. Similar to iMovie in ease of use. Free but $4.33 a month to get professional features such as custom transitions and to remove the watermark. There is a YouTube channel here.

Placeit
Easy-to-use video editing tool with pre-designed video templates. Add music, graphics, animations. There is a cost to downloading the final design. Pay as you go ($9.95) or subscription ($14.95 a month). 

PicPlayPost (Mixcord) 
Video editor that lets users create slideshows, split screens, video collages, etc. adding music, voice, gifs. Best for short videos. Free but the best features come with a subscription such as playing two videos side by side. $6.99 a month.

Preceden (formally Time Glider)
Create web-based timelines using images & videos.

Quik (see GoPro Quick)

Renderforest
A suite of products with many templates. Limited functionality and control. While you can add your own text, photos, and video clips, you can’t easily add clips with just text, No start from scratch option. Free version or $6.99 a month. 

Reduct
Edit the video by editing the text. For instance, you can upload a long interview and the site (using machine learning) will transcribe the speech and tag each word to a visual frame allowing you to quickly generate a highlight reel or other edited videos.

Reel Director
Creates movies and lets you edit on phone similar to iMovie. $2.99.

Rocketium Online Video Creation Suite
Multiple video-related tools including a video editor designed to prep material for social media distribution: Upload clips, add text export. Lots of templates, stock images, fonts, and motion graphics. Easy to import articles and make videos based on the images, headlines, and subheadings. Limited functionality in the free version and videos are limited to three minutes. Paid version starts at $9 and includes transitions and animations but videos limited to 10 minutes. Discounts for students and teachers. 

Shotcut
Most processes are simple but not everything and it has an odd-looking interface. However, it has gained a following thanks to a large selection of audio and video filters so it has become a favorite of editors who want effects. No preview on the filters. Free.

Spark Camera*
Video filming and editing app. Add captions, titles, music and a voiceover. Easy to get started. Aimed at social media influencers. More info here and user guide here. iPhone only. Free.

Steller*
Create photo and video stories on an iPhone with an emphasis on mobile design. Create collections and share on social networks. Free. Sample.

Unfold*
App for iOS or Android for creating vertical montages of videos and photos. 25 free templates, dozens more as in-app purchases. A product of SquareSpace. More info here. 

Veed
Easy to use templated video editing options for creating social media posts. Use to add captions. Free watermarked version available. $20 monthly.

Video Leap 
An iPhone app with a wide range of high-end functions (such as masking and blending, key framing and chroma key compositing) for creating videos from images, video and text. Tutorials here.

Video Toolbox
Make quick edits to videos. Convert video formats, make thumbnails, add subtitles, add audio, a watermark, or merge video files. Outdated interface and not user-friendly. Lacking preview options. Other apps are likely better options. 

VideoShop 
Excellent for making simple edits, add music and subtitles. More info here. Free. 

Vimeo
Video hosting and editing. 

Vlogit
Editing two-track video, add voiceover. More info here. Free.

VSCO*
Great start-to-finish photo/video app. Easy to use filters and helpful tutorials. Manual controls like focus lock, exposure lock, and white balance. Edit images and share them on social media. IOS. Here is a tutorial. Free version or $19.99 a year for 170 presets. 

Wave.Video
Basic video editor for social media posts with many templates including free music, stock photos, and video extras. Intuitive interface and easy to move into social media. Limited text options. Free version doesn’t allow downloads and videos of no more than 15 seconds. To get more than one minute it’s a whopping $48 a month.

WeVideo*
Semi-professional video editing with a real timeline with precise controls. A great app to help you learn simple video editing. Lots of templates, stock audio and video as well as text-based motion graphics templates. Record your webcam, or screen—or both at the same time (helpful for making tutorial videos). Both iOS and Android. A learning curve that’s not too steep. The free plan is really a demo with a watermark. Best options is unlimited plan ($6.39 a month).

Wondershare
Video editing app. Easy-to-use with standard effects though not the more advanced effects. $59.99.

25 Articles about Searching for a Job

/

4 Tips for Getting a Journalism Job - MuckRack

5 platforms to help you find your next journalism job - Poynter

5 Tips for Aspiring Digital Copywriters - Mashable

9 tips to help you find your first job — and nail the interview - CNBC

Are you searching for a job? Here’s real talk about possible red flags - Poynter

Cal State Fullerton Career Center director provides tips for finding jobs virtually - ABC-7

Didn't get the Job? You'll never know Why - Wall Street Journal

Finding your next job: Three things to do before starting - Chronicle of Higher Education

How Companies Mislead And Take Advantage Of Job Seekers And Employees - Forbes

How Do You Apply to a Company Way Out of Your League? - Life Hacker

How Helicopter Parents can ruin kids' job prospects - CNN

How to Find an "In" at your dream company-fast - The Muse

How to Job Hunt (When You’re Already Exhausted) - Harvard Business Review

How to Pick and Ask for Job References - LifeHacker  

How to Request a Letter of Recommendation from Your Professor - YouTube

'Overqualified' May Be a Smokescreen - Fortune

Job-Hunters, Have You Posted Your Résumé on TikTok? - New York Times ($)

Not getting interviews? Troubleshoot your job search with these 3 checkpoints - Fast Company

Six Ways to Score a Job Through Twitter - Mashable

Should you Reveal a Disability in your Job Search? - Fortune

The top 3 skills employers are looking for in 2022 - CNBC

Tried and true job hunting advice based on my own real world job search - Fox Business

What the Great Resignation means for new grads - Fast Company

ZipRecruiter vs. Glassdoor: Which Is the Better Job Search Site? - Entrepreneur

ZipRecruiter vs. LinkedIn: Which Is the Better Job Search Site? - Entrepreneur

Top five regrets of the dying

/

What would your biggest regret be if this was your last day of life? An Australian nurse who counsels the dying recorded the most common regrets she heard from people at the end of theirs lives. Bronnie Ware put them in a book called The Top Five regrets of the Dying.

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard.

This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.

Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result. 

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying. 

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

Happiness v Meaning

/

In a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, psychological scientists asked nearly 400 Americans aged 18 to 78 whether they thought their lives were meaningful and/or happy. Examining their self-reported attitudes toward meaning, happiness, and many other variables -- like stress levels, spending patterns, and having children -- over a month-long period, the researchers found that a meaningful life and happy life overlap in certain ways, but are ultimately very different. Leading a happy life, the psychologists found, is associated with being a "taker" while leading a meaningful life corresponds with being a "giver."  

"Happiness without meaning characterizes a relatively shallow, self-absorbed or even selfish life, in which things go well, needs and desire are easily satisfied, and difficult or taxing entanglements are avoided," the authors write.  

Emily Esfahani Smith writing in The Atlantic

Does refusing to act your age delay aging?

/

In a UK study, researchers found "people who thought old age began earlier were more likely to have had a heart attack, to be suffering from heart disease or be in poor physical health generally when they were followed up six to nine years later."

Becca Levy of The Yale School of Public Health "followed more than a thousand people who were at least 50 at the time. She found that people who had positive ideas about their own ageing (who agreed with comments such as "I have as much pep as last year" and who disagreed that as you get older you get less useful) lived for an average of 22.6 years after they first participated in the study, while the people who felt less positively about ageing lived for just 15 years more on average."

Claudia Hammond writing for BBC Future suggests "People who think old age starts later in life may be more conscious about their health and fitness and therefore take active steps to stay in better shape. They think they are younger and so behave in younger ways, creating a virtuous circle."

Tuesday Tech Tools: 12 Tools to create animated videos

/

Animaker
Tool for making infographic videos with animated characters. Easy to use for beginners. Limited free version or accounts starting at $144 a year.

Animatron
Many video clips to use to create animations along with your own voice. Create animated banner ads, white board videos, and more. Used by some major companies.

Biteable
Animated video maker for social media or making an explainer video. Interface is easy to use and the product looks professional. Prices start at $15 a month.

FlipAnim
Make animated videos easily. Nice interface.

Meograph
3D animation of people from 2D video of people. Video explanation. 

Moovly
Drag and drop to create video animations. Directly uploads to YouTube. Integrated with Shutterstock. Interface could be better.

Powtoon 
Animated infographics web tool for creating videos. Best for presentations. User-friendly basic cartoon software with plenty of templates and social integrations. No 3D or keyframing. The free version has company branding on it while the expensive pro plans start at $19 a month. 

RenderForest
An online animation maker with many templates. Easy to get started. Aimed at small businesses. Limited control. While you can add your own text, photos, and video clips, you can’t easily add clips with just text, No start from scratch option. A video explanation here. Free or paid accounts with more options starting at $9.99.

Video Scribe
Create animated videos, replicating the popular whiteboard-style tutorial.  7 day free trial. $16.50 a month.

Vyond (formally GoAnimate)
Make animated videos. Many images and videos to use. Free 14-day trial. Subscription plans: $39 a month or $299 each year.

Wideo
Will do some editing for social media video but its primarily for making keyframe-based animations and using premade animations. Simple, user-friendly, so it works for beginners and semi-pros alike though there is a learning curve. Templates, transitions, and illustrations. Storyboard creator and text-to-speech generator. One week trial then $59 a month.

Xtranormal
Create animated movies.

Don’t take the job you want to talk about at parties

/

Work is not a series of words on a LinkedIn profile. It’s a series of moments in the world. And if you don’t enjoy those moments, no sequence of honorifics will dispel your misery.

Some people take jobs with long commutes not fully considering what it will do to their health. Or they take jobs that require lots of travel not fully intuiting what it will mean for their family life. Or they’ll take horribly difficult jobs for money they don’t need, or take high-status jobs for a dopamine rush with a half-life of about three days. Don’t take the job you want to talk about at parties for a couple of minutes a month. Take the job you want to do for hundreds of hours a year.

If you outsource your sense of worth to the feedback of crowds and the approval of peers and professional counterparties, your working identity will feel like a sailboat in a hurricane. You have to moor yourself to something that doesn’t change direction every few moments, whether it’s the confidence that you’re helping people or the joy of pure discovery.

Derek Thompson writing in The Atlantic

What does it means for a human being to possess the truth

/

Kierkegaard’s concern is really not with the adequacy of a philosophical theory of truth, but with the question of what it means for a human being to possess the truth. To grasp the significance of this, we must not think of truth in the way characteristic of contemporary philosophy, focusing on the properties of propositions, but in the way ancient thinkers conceived of truth. For Socrates and Plato, at least as Kierkegaard understood them, having the truth meant having the key to human life, possessing that which makes it possible to live life as it was intended to be lived.

C Stephen Evans, Introduction: Kierkegaard’s life and works

Was there nothing worth fighting for?

/

You’ve probably heard the story of the guy who climbs up the steep steps to the Golden Gate to presents himself to St. Peter and St. Peter says, “So, show me your scars!” “Scars?” the guy says, “Uh, I...I don’t have any scars..” “No scars?!” St. Peter asks incredulously.” Was there nothing worth fighting for?”

What is worth fighting for? As the American rock singer, actor, author and poet, Henry Rollins says, “Scar tissue is stronger than regular tissue. Realize the strength and move on...”  

Gail Blanke

 

Tuesday Tech Tools: 26 Twitter Tools

/

Botometer
Checks the activity of a Twitter account and gives it a score based on how likely the account is to be a bot. A high score suggests the account is probably automated. Accounts rated above 48% are flagged as potential bots—anything over 60% rates as a “likely” bot. It's a free product out of Indiana University. 

DeBot
Like the Botometer, this is a bot detection system for Twitter accounts. The information is archived so it can be searched. It's free tool from the University of New Mexico.

Folier.me
Insights into any public Twitter profile. Free.

FollowerWonk
Find people to follow on Twitter through search, shows you when your Twitter follower are online so you can plan accordingly. Analysis by region. Reports can take a while to build. Free but more metrics with a paid account.

Glisser
Glisser "makes presentations social"  by making slides sharableto audience phones and laptops. Live polling, Twitter feeds and other audience interaction. Free but a paid subscription offers more options.

Hashtagify
Search for trending hashtags that will be most relevant to your audience. Free trial. $9.99 a month.

Kurrently
Search engine for Facebook and Twitter.

Lapse It
A time lapse video capture apps. Up to 1080p on the Pro version. Free or $3.99 for the Pro version.

Make Adverbs Great Again
Helps Twitter users determine if an account is a bot. Offers a rating of 1-10 as to whether an account is likely to be an artificial troll. Free.

Mapbox
This Photoshop for maps—and just as difficult to learn. However, it has some of the most powerful style editing of any map maker. Not for beginners. Instead of using Google Maps, Mapbox uses Open Street Maps. An impressive example of how Vox has used it here. There is a free version with paid accounts starting at $50.

Ninja Outreach
Automated social media outreach to find influencers. 

Plume
App for Twitter users. Customizable options. Free for Android, $3 for iOS.

Proporti.oni
Can give you a gender breakdown of your followers and the people you are following, categorizing them as male, female, nonbinary or unknown.

SocialBro*
Helps businesses manage and monitor their Twitter accounts, discover key influencers, schedule Tweets at the best times, track engagement, and analyze competitors. Free Trial with pricing starting at $13.95. Video explanation.

Tweet Beep
Get email alerts whenever somebody tweets about something you're interested in--even keep track of who’s tweeting your website or blog, even if they use a shortened URL. Free account available or paid account at $20 a month for more options.  Video explanation here.

Tweet Chart
Allows you to generate a report of custom data for anything you can search Twitter for: hashtags, words, phrases, usernames or URLs. A reporter could determine which hastags were used most frequently in the past week, deciding to, for instance, report on a recent crime spree or a particular local event. Free.

Tweetbot
Mac app with customizable options. View threads showing co-worker tweets only, for example or retweet from multiple accounts. $3.

TweetDeck*
Look at multiple Twitter feeds on your desktop. Powerful filters help you focus on what interests you. Schedule Tweets, set up notification alerts for new tweets. Option to have it ask for confirmation before a tweet goes out--giving you another chance to avoid sending something inappropriate or not well-crafted. Bought by Twitter in 2011.

Tweepi
Cleans up your Tweeter feed--removing inactive followers in bulk and offers other Twitter management chores. From $7.49 a month.

Twellow
A directory of Twitter users. Lets you search for people based on their name and the information they put into their bios. Find people with similar interests to follow.

Twitonomy
Detailed and visual analytics on anyone's tweets, retweets, replies, mentions, hashtags. Easily backup and export tweets, retweets, etc. Monitor particular user tweets. Find out those you follow but don't follow you back. Download your followers and following lists to Excel. Free trial. Paid accounts start at $19 a month.

TwitterBioGenerator
A canned description of you is a mere click away!

Twitter Lists 
Tweet list manager (similar to TweetDeck)

Twitter moments
Bundled experiences of Twitter content.

Twitter Search
The search engine for Twitter. See what people are saying about your competitors by to:competitor replacing competitor with Twitter handle.

TwXplorer
Explore what’s trending on Twitter. Filter for the 500 most recent uses of a word (or phrase). The app will list of users tweeting about that phrase and hashtags being used in relation to that word or phrase. A product of Northwestern University’s Knight Lab. Free.

Is it Hard for You to Ask for Help?

/

If you are inclined to avoid requesting help, it’s important to examine any thoughts or beliefs that might be getting in your way. These could include: 

·      Negative associations: you might think that someone is lazy if they can’t do something themselves.

·      Self-criticism: you could think that asking for help means you are incapable or weak.

·      Concerns about how you will be perceived: you might worry that someone will think less favourably of you if you ask for help.

·      Self-sacrificing beliefs: you might worry about burdening someone with your needs.

·      Overestimating the likelihood of rejection: ‘No one is going to want to help me out,’ you might assume – ‘why would they?’

Research suggests that we tend to underestimate the likelihood of someone saying yes to a request for help. Most people feel good when they do helpful things for others, and prefer to think of themselves as generous and willing to help when they can. If you fear that someone will like you less if you ask them for help, consider the opposite possibility: people might actually like you more if they’ve done you a favour. Expressing vulnerability and openness, by acknowledging that you could use help, can lead to deeper connection.

Debbie Sorensen writing in Psyche

22 Articles about Job Searches

/