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FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | JUNE 2021 27 THERE'S AN APP FOR THAT! By Steve Benoff Color me disappointed but not surprised. In my April column, I asked for your positive views of Facebook and its smartphone app. I'm disappointed in that I got only one response. I'm not surprised because I get woefully little feedback from readers. Since I'm occasionally greeted by people who say they enjoy my articles, I know I have at least a few readers but few contributors. My one response came from Elizabeth Westbrook who has shared her favored apps with me in the past. Despite my hope for more responses, I thought Elizabeth's views warranted a response to my largely negative view of Facebook. Although she agrees with much of my view of social media, she finds a lot to like with Facebook. She and her husband Phillip (Elizabeth and Phillip, don't you love it?) have had a Facebook account from its inception. He has two daughters and four grandchildren, but they are not easily accessible. "Their postings allow us to see their celebrations, vacations, and seeing the grandkids grow with their hobbies." "During this pandemic, postings of pictures and videos were our only access to my new grand-niece in Las Vegas. Also, it's a great way to see my sister with her friends and fiancé in different places having a ball." Elizabeth also uses Facebook's features to give a "thumbs up" or a birthday wish. Facebook allows her to see her "cousin from the Philippines and her exotic travels." Her "brother's hiking exploits posted in his account inspired and educated us to try new trails." Elizabeth and Phillip "don't post any pictures or comments because after reading [Elizabeth's] nephew's and his wife's posts, it reaffirms that silence is golden…. In a nutshell, used properly, FB is a social media opportunity to share and vicariously experience wonderful destinations and happiness." While I'm not prepared to sign back up with Facebook, Elizabeth makes many points in its favor. Martha and I stay in touch with our daughter and her Brooklyn family on the phone and using Apple FaceTime and texts. We recently "babysat" our two granddaughters using FaceTime. They are nine and 12 and don't really need supervision. But when their parents recently went out for a rare dinner by themselves, we spent an hour and a half on FaceTime with the girls. The video allowed them to show us how they've decorated their room and some of their school projects. While I'm on the subject of responses to my column, I'd like to mention Bob Ferrier. I've mentioned my satisfaction with the Apple Weather app. It's the one I use daily. When I want a little more detail, I use the CBS Los Angeles Weather app. All weather apps give you local weather regardless of their home base. But Bob prefers Weather Underground. Bob says, "I've used Underground since a family member told me about it a few years ago. So familiarity is one big issue for me. Of all the apps, I think the map is what I like best. It's on a white background and when there is rain in the area (which is rare these days) I like the green display for rain and white for snow. Some of the other sites have different colors for rain and snow which I don't like. NOAA has a white background but then the screen is cluttered with all kinds of confusing bits of information that just take up space. For me, Underground is my go to app." If you use an app you'd like to share with others, let me know at steve.benoff@verizon.net. Readers Offer Valuable Input Steve Benoff has been turned into a caricature using the app Cartoon Effect. Now he wants to hear what apps YOU like! Email him today!