5 Tools to Help You Stay On Top of Great Content

Written by Maria Rivera.

We live in a time where content is churned out every few minutes in the form of blog posts, slideshows, lists, hacks, podcasts, and videos. You can only bookmark so many pages before your toolbar is inundated so it can be difficult to keep up-to-date on the latest from your favorite bloggers. Here is a roundup of a few tools to ensure you don’t miss a post!

 

1. Feedly
Feedly is one of the simplest apps to use for blog organizing. Once you start an account, click on the “Add Content” tab. You can search for your favorite blogs or find new ones! Click on the green plus sign to add to your reading list. You can segment the blogs by category: DIY, Beauty, Vegan, etc. You can choose different viewing options, search for new blog posts by hashtags, and easily mark posts as read to have them disappear from your feed. Log in through your browser or download the app on your phone for free. Available for iOS and Android.

2. Bloglovin’
Bloglovin’ is another tool to easily manage your blog feeds. You can add blogs by searching for them on the “Explore” tab or discover new blogs by category. The sorting options allow for viewing customization and easily click on a specific blog on the right side panel to see the latest content. Bloglovin’ differs because it caters a bit more to bloggers. You can “claim” your blog and view stats. Bloglovin’ also emphasises social circles and customizing your Bloglovin’ profile allows you to connect to others who have similar interests. Available on your browser or the app is available for free on iOS and Android.

3. LinkedIn Pulse
Looking to blog surf at work? LinkedIn offers LinkedIn Pulse which allows you to follow channels and influencers, save articles for later reading, and easily share to your social media circles. Browse on LinkedIn.com or through the free iOS or Android app.

4. Zite
Zite is strictly a mobile app that works as a “learning magazine”. Start an account, choose subjects that interest you such as health, nutrition, and breaking news and Zite pulls articles that match. You can sort by interests, topic, news source, and even author. You can add articles to your Quicklist for later reading. The more you read on Zite, the more it learns from you. Download for free for iOS and Android.

5. RSS Subscriptions
RSS stands for really simple syndication. Websites would provide RSS buttons on their sites (many still do because CMSs auto-generate them) that you could subscribe to and the RSS feed would update as new content was available. There was a simpler time where Google Reader existed. This was a wildly popular “RSS reader” that would translated the XML file of an RSS subscription and translate it on your feed. Google Reader is no longer available and while there are other readers that exist, many apps, including some from the list above, utilize the same technology more efficiently and visually pleasing.

Another simple and obvious way to keep up with blogs is to follow them on social media. Every blogger will update their Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook page whenever they have a new post.

Don’t forget to follow all the great blog posts WCA writers contribute to our website on a weekly basis. Happy following!