A: Regardless of how you prefer to consume information, there's a method to fit your needs. A lot of the options are crossovers as well. For example, you may prefer email, but you probably also receive your email on your smart phone, where you likely also access your social networks. Keep in mind also that this list is by no means exhaustive!
If you prefer... EMAIL
About You: You live in your inbox. It's the one place where you know you can find anything, any time. If someone needs to get in touch with you, shooting you an email is the best way to do it.
- Newsletter Subscriptions. Find websites that create content you appreciate and find useful and subscribe to receive their regular newsletter. This can come in the form of a blog (like Houzz) or a news website (like NBC San Diego).
- RSS Email Notifications. You can receive email updates from nearly any website that updates regularly using RSS, or Really Simple Syndication. These feeds can come directly to a special folder in your inbox in Outlook or delivered as an email via a third party service such as FeedMyInbox or Feed2Mail.
About You: You prefer the convenience of a full keyboard, standard mouse and larger screen. You may not always be with your laptop or PC, but you favor its company to a mobile device.
- YouTube Subscriptions. Even if you don't create content on YouTube, having your own account has its perks. When you subscribe to a channel, not only can that content be emailed to you on a weekly basis but you are able to access it in the Subscriptions section of YouTube.
- Blog Subscriptions. Similar to YouTube, you can subscribe to blogs when you have an account with either WordPress or Blogger. Simply log into your account and look for the "Blogs I Follow" section (WordPress) or "Reading List" section (Blogger).
- RSS Feeds. RSS is a simple and expedient way to have content from various websites delivered to you in one centralized location. Google Reader and FeedReaderOnline are two good choices.
- Personalized Landing Page. Unfortunately, iGoogle will soon be extinct however there are other sites waiting to take its place. NetVibes and Protopage are functional as both an iGoogle replacement or a first-time user landing page.
About You: You are a champion Facebooker, Tweeter, Pinner or Blogger. Email generally feels clunky, and you tend to keep in contact with people on these sites instead.
- Twitter Lists. If you've ever used Twitter, you know how quickly information can pile up. Make sense of the noise by separating who you follow into lists. Lists can be public or private and there's no limit to how many users you can place in a list, or what topics you create. Bonus: Hootsuite can help you digest your Twitter lists even more efficiently.
- Facebook Lists & Interest Lists. Similar to Twitter lists, Facebook allows you to sift through the noise and focus on the accounts you want to hear. Friend lists are private and allow you to filter your friends into separate groups. Interest lists are more about topical content.
- Paper.li. Paper.li takes your Twitter lists and formats the content into a digital newspaper. Not only can this make it easier for you to digest information, but it also can share with the public via Twitter.
About You: You are a person on the go and hate being tethered to a desk. You likely access all of the above options through apps on your phone or tablet.
- Preferred Source Apps. Many content creators have their own mobile phone apps that will even notify you when there is new content available. Mashable, TechCrunch, CNN and MSNBC are good places to start.
- Aggregation Apps. If you'd rather streamline the number of apps you have running, an aggregator is your best option. Check out Zite, Flipboard, Pulse or Google Currents. Besides having an assortment of pre-selected sites available, these apps also allow you to customize your content by adding RSS feeds from your favorite sites or your social media connections.
So, how do you have content delivered to you? Share with us in the comments!
All images courtesy FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
