As we come to the end of another year, I’m happy to present mStoner’s Seventh Annual Top Picks — a crowd-sourced collection of the mStoner team’s favorite discoveries from 2017. This year we’ve focused on digital resources, news & politics, restaurants, mobile apps, and — of course — the best of higher ed. We hope you find something useful, interesting, or new to try in 2018.
Not familiar with the series? Check out the posts from 2015, and 2016.
Do you have a “top pick” to share from 2017? We’d love to hear from you. Tweet us at @mStonerinc.
Best of Higher Ed
I am so proud of our team and the site that we created for our agency. When I look at our site, I see teamwork, I see what mStoner stands for. It is a true representation of who we are and the incredible work we do as a company. The intentionally simple and open site allows our client’s work to shine, and the mStoner story is told through their work.
— Bianca Tomlin, digital marketing specialist
Partnering with Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University on their website redesign coincided with my own acceptance into their masters program for Integrated Marketing Communications, so this project was particularly near and dear to my heart over the last year. I spent a week in Evanston for a leadership class in June and I had the pleasure of meeting many folks from Medill’s marketing team during a photo shoot for the new site — what a smart and talented bunch! As a current student, I can say that the new site better represents the quality of the education I’m receiving and is a heck of a lot easier to navigate!
— Mallory Willsea, director of marketing
Mills College wanted to modernize Mills.edu to improve the visitor experience and better reflect the individuality, diversity, and creativity that exists on campus. The implementation was really different and fun with all of the ways the site can be manipulated, to improve the visitor experience, one of the goals the institution had when starting the website redesign process with mStoner.
— Elisabeth Bland, web analyst
Funnelback is a flexible full-featured search platform that goes way beyond your standard search. From courses and programs to faculty directories and events, Funnelback is a game changer for higher education.
— Jim Johnson, lead developer
I’m really proud of everything that people might not see when they look at Elmhurst College’s website. Just looking at the site you can see the client partnership, the content strategy, and a concerted plan for transitioning an entire site from one CMS to another in less than a year.
— Voltaire Santos Miran, co-founder and co-owner
My go-to when listening to podcasts is Higher Ed Live. Yes, I know what you are thinking… #SheDranktheKoolAid. I am not even ashamed. I listen to the podcast and the archived episodes when I am at work. It doubles as professional development AND entertainment. The hosts are trusted in the higher ed community, the topics are engaging, and the guests are smart. If you are involved in the higher education industry and looking for professional development, best-practices, or a trusted resource for thought leadership, Higher Ed Live should be your resource.
— Bianca Tomlin, digital marketing specialist
Keeping Up With News & Politics
Note to Self and Decrypted are technology podcasts that help keep me up on technology trends + breakthroughs like AI, automation, social, and how they impact our daily lives now and in the future for better and worse. These podcasts help me get a grasp on all of the confusing and hard to understand things currently impacting our political, personal, and working world.
— Ben Conley, UX/visual designer
FiveThirtyEight is a fantastic source of keeping up with national and state politics. They have a weekly podcast but also do emergency podcasts for breaking news. 538 has recently started a mini-podcast series called “The Gerrymandering Project”.
— Kim Ward, front-end developer
I’ve been a New York Times reader throughout my adult life, but after the 2016 election, I subscribed to the Washington Post, too. I was partly inspired by the reporters and columnists I saw interviewed on various news shows during the runup to the election. I’ve come to value both its news and opinion “pages” (screens?) — and the Post has a great app for both smartphones and tablets.
— Michael Stoner, president
I am a big fan of New York Times’ podcast The Daily, hosted by Michael Barbaro. I listen to it every morning on my way to work. Each day they release in-depth coverage of that days most pressing story in the news. It really gives me a deeper understanding of what’s going on in the world, and these days it’s more important than ever. Barbaro’s interview with a retired coal miner is unforgettable.
— Abby McLean, UX/visual designer
Best of Digital
S‑Town, the podcast from the creators of Serial and This American Life is one of the most striking and unexpected stories I heard this year. It starts as a straightforward mystery but quickly becomes something else entirely. Rich characters and a striking portrait of a small corner of America, it’s one of the most novelistic podcasts I’ve heard to date. Another podcast I enjoy is, More Perfect. Now in its second season, Radiolab’s spin-off series brings the history of the supreme court to life and explores pivotal cases with a deeply human touch. I never used to be a supreme court nerd, but I am now. Thanks, More Perfect.
— Shannon Lanus, content strategist
Becca Tilley, a former Bachelor contestant, started a new podcast inspired by her love of the TV show Grey’s Anatomy. In Scrubbing in with Becca Tilley, Becca covers everything from dating and relationships to music, sports to her love of sleeping and anything that falls in-between. As an LA-based woman in her late twenties, Becca is extremely relatable and absolutely hilarious in the stories her and her friends can tell about dating.
— Elizabeth Ladd, project coordinator
Following the release of Monument Valley in 2014, ustwo Games released Monument Valley 2 for iOS!!!! Set in the same universe, Monument Valley 2 tells the story of a mother and child as they embark on a journey of discovery through a stunning and impossible world. Players will explore ever-changing landscapes, mechanics that surprise at every turn and an evolving parent-child relationship.
— Ben Bilow, creative director
Favorite Restaurants
Porano Pasta, a fast italian eatery is my favorite in Downtown St. Louis. It is owned by Gerard Craft who has some of the best unique eateries in the region. Porano is always poppin’ during lunch. It’s great to see local restaurants do well.
— Kim Ward, front-end developer
I have two young kids, so I unfortunately I don’t get out to eat much. Before I had kids, my husband and I spent all of our money on dining out. We tried them all, even the restaurants that cost enough for a tropical vacation. But our favorite that we keep coming back to is Longman & Eagle in our old ‘hood, Logan Square. I’ve never had a bad meal there. The bone marrow smeared on toast is ah-mazing.
— Abby McLean, UX/visual designer
Traveling to Los Angeles and looking for the best brunch of your life? Trois Familia serves up French-Mexican-California fusion seven days a week. My favorite dish is the chicken milanesa, it comes with these incredible raw and pickled cucumbers and homemade maggi ranch. And your group will definitely want to share the churro french toast. It is served with Salt & Straw vanilla ice cream and mexican chocolate. Yum!
— Mallory Willsea, director of marketing
My favorite food item at Anthonino’s Taverna are the Handmade Toasted Ravioli. They are so good, they were even on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. What sets Anthonino’s apart from other authentic Italian restaurants on The Hill is the addition of Greek specialties to the extensive and eclectic menu. From pizzas and pastas to Dolmathes and Greek yogurt tzatziki, and a constantly evolving menu, Anthonino’s offers a truly unique dining experience on The Hill.
— Elizabeth Ladd, project coordinator
Headed to Italy? La Paranza in Santa Margherita Ligure is a family owned, non-assuming restaurant in a seaside resort town. With free shots of homemade limoncello at the end of every meal, how can you go wrong?.
— Voltaire Santos Miran, co-founder and co-owner
Having moved our St. Louis office to the Maplewood neighborhood this past Fall, we’re getting to know the local cuisine. We are lucky enough to share a building with Blue Duck, who recently added a counter service lunch menu. Yay! My favorites are the chicken salad sandwich and the Blue Duck diner burger (complete with bacon and grilled shallots!)
— Lauren Anderson, office manager
Helpful Mobile Apps
The most useful new app I discovered this year is PlayOn, which bills itself as the DVR for the Internet. It’s revolutionized the way I watch videos and films. PlayOn allows me to record videos and films on any service I subscribe to (Hulu, Netflix, Amazon) and download them to a player on my tablet and phone so I can watch them whenever I want. This is a real boon because we live in a rural area with spotty “broadband,” so I can use the (slightly better) broadband in my office to download during the day and watch without worrying about the quality of wifi, or even whether I’m connected to the internet at all. PlayOn recording is inexpensive (US $.20/each for any service to which you have a valid login) and you can store your copies in the cloud for 30 days (they also offer a cloud storage option). Or you can download your videos and store them yourself. The only downside is that PlayOn doesn’t offer a desktop version for MacOS, though its iOS apps are terrific.
— Michael Stoner, president
Hopper is my go-to application for travel. This app lets you put in your desired travel date and location and then tracks the prices and gives you a prediction of when the flight will be at its lowest price, and when it will rise. Hopper sends you a notification letting you know when the fare has dropped to the predicted lowest price, helping you save on travel. I use it as a cross-reference if I think I have already found a great price, and for future planning for trips.
— Bianca Tomlin, digital marketing specialist
HeadSpace is a great entry point to meditation. It starts you out with just three minute guided meditation sequences and eventually works you up to 10 minutes. The interface and has really cute animated intros clearly illustrating the science behind meditation. Anyone who doesn’t think they can meditate, like I did, should give it a try.
— Abby McLean, UX/visual designer
Alfred is an incredibly useful tool and essential to me. With a few keypresses it will open a toggle box where you can search your computer, the internet, do simple calculations, look up definitions, or even check spelling. Another great app is LastPass. It’s a password manager has become an essential tool to help manage our online lives. All of the passwords to your accounts are safely stored in a client encrypted vault in the cloud where you can access them anywhere you go. You only need to make one strong passphrase to access your passwords. My favorite feature of LastPass is their password “audit” where they make sure you’re not using the same password for multiple accounts.