Every day there are new apps and tools introduced and part of my job is to take a look at them and tell you what I think. I get as  overwhelmed by it as the next person, though and try to sort through the massive influx and determine what’s really worth my time, and yours.
Four tools I think are worth trying out in 2012 are:
Spotify
I love music and have friends with excellent musical tastes and diverse interests. Spotify (the premium social music sharing edition) allows me to take all the music with me everywhere I go, to listen to others’ playlists, discover new bands and relive my youth with tunes of the 70s and 80s — whenever and wherever I want.
Pinterest
Women, in particular, are flocking to this platform — designers and those with an eye for beauty seem to like it best and for creative inspiration it can’t be beat.
StumbleUpon
This is a tool to rediscover — you may have used it in the past, but it’s re-branded, new and improved and I like it a lot! When I’m stuck for writing topics or need a new way to discover content outside of my social network, I’ll spend all night stumbling.
Path
I’ve only been on Path for a few days — but I get it, and I like it so far, as a Facebook alternative. It’s an app for your smartphone that takes all that’s awesome of the Facebook timeline profile concept and focuses on that, while eliminating all the lack-of-privacy nonsense we don’t like about the FB. Try it. You might like it, too.
What are you eager to try out in 2012?Â