What’s on the smartphone agenda for June?

Bluesky

If you miss the old days before Twitter became X and went a bit off the rails, and before other social media platforms took the decision to weaken user protections, then Bluesky could be the one for you.

The app was started by Jack Dorsey and the Twitter team and became a separate entity after Elon Musk purchased Twitter in 2022.

Over the past couple of years, its grown significantly and, at the beginning of the year, Bluesky passed 30 million active users. In April, it launched a verification badge system, increasing trust.

Bluesky operates like a classic social media platform with an endless feed to scroll through but what you see is based on what you follow, rather than paid visibility. Some notable news agencies have also migrated to Bluesky from X, so there is plenty of up-to-the-minute content.

Starter packs are available for new users, which include groups of accounts covering the same topic – which could be anything from politics to fitness. Bluesky also boasts strong user protection features, including the ability to totally block someone.

Birds Of The Middle East

Fancy taking up a new hobby or looking for a way to keep the kids busy and learning during the long summer holidays? The eGuide to Birds of the Middle East is an interactive companion to the Birds of the Middle East field guide – the comprehensive guide for birdwatchers visiting the region. It covers Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, the Arabian peninsula and Socotra, with specific features designed to enhance your birding experience.

Features include hi-res images, distribution maps and detailed text descriptions of over 800 bird species, including breeding species and regular visitors. Audible calls for more than 400 bird species are also available.

‘Bird Compare’ enables users to compare two birds on the same screen and there’s a Bird Index using both common or scientific bird names, either alphabetically or taxonomically.

Users can create a personal bird list that stores sightings, which is saved to the device and can be exported via email. Why not encourage the kids to get competitive with their pals and see who can spot the most species over the holidays?