These days, most people get their daily dose of news from Facebook posts, Twitter, Reddit threads, and more. However, if you don’t want to rely on social media as your only source of news, there are other ways to discover more popular content online.
There was a time when news aggregators and RSS feeds were more common. These tools still have a place in the digital world despite the rise of social media. Here, we will look at some of the best options.
Feedly is a smart newsreader that syncs across all your devices. It combines the functionality of a news aggregator along with a powerful reader featuring night mode, text-to-speech, and easy sharing functionality. The idea is that you can choose the topics that interest you and Feedly will select the content for you based on that information.
It uses multiple sources available online, including blog posts, research papers, and even YouTube videos. There’s a lot more you can do with Feedly, like bookmarking certain articles, connecting your Reddit or Twitter account, and customizing the appearance of the reader.
AllTop is more of a traditional news aggregator. It has a home page that automatically curates daily content from popular sites like TechCrunch, Reddit, NPR, BBC, and more. It also allows you to categorize specific topics like technology, sports, news, business, etc.
You can also add your own feeds or create a custom RSS feed reader by creating an AllTop page to suit your needs. This can be done by creating a new RSS feed or by importing an existing one. All you need to do is sign up and get started.
Like Feedly, Panda is another smart newsreader. However, while Feedly focuses more on the healing part, this one instead delves a bit more into the reading side. For example, he has 9 different designs to choose from. The idea is that it can replace the home page in your browser of choice.
It focuses more on design and tech-related content, but also curates content on topics like business, finance, and lifestyle. You can also add your own RSS feeds to create a more targeted reading experience. It also features dark mode and allows you to bookmark articles to read later.
Pocket is arguably the best read-later app out there. It’s available on almost any platform, so you can install it on your phone or add it as an extension to your browser. The next time you see an article that seems important to you, you can save it to Pocket and read it later. All your saved content is synced across all your devices.
The reading functionality is great as it has many accessibility features like dark mode, text-to-speech, and different font styles. However, Pocket also learns from the content you like to read and aggregates similar content from different sources online. This is a separate feature from the reading list and it works quite well.
Google News sports a fresh design and has some pretty useful features. It works just like any other aggregator, providing up-to-date coverage on the topics that matter to you. However, since Google News has access to your Google account, it already knows what kind of news you’re looking for.
There is a For you section that selects content based on your recent search activity. He House The page now prioritizes local news and personalized content. Finally, all of your saved searches, topics, feeds, and stories now appear in the Following section. It is available as a website or as an app for iPhone and Android.
Flipboard is often compared to Google News simply because they are quite similar. Both are great for aggregating news from different sources, and both allow you to save content to read later. The difference is in the user interface and navigation.
Flipboard works more like a mini magazine, and the interface mimics the experience of flipping through one. It is also a more social app and allows you to create custom boards to share with friends or family.
You can also share your full profile, so people can see what interests you. Of course, you can also select specific topics that you want daily coverage on.
SmartNews is a news aggregator website that is also available as an application for Android and iOS. Like Google News, it prioritizes local content, but the app’s interface gives it a newspaper feel. For example, there is a section that allows you to browse through the latest local news headlines.
Interestingly, the app also features a slider that allows you to browse through different perspectives from the liberal and conservative media. Other than that, you can quickly browse through different sources, customize your channels, and save content for offline reading.
Techmeme is a popular site that aggregates and curates top technology-related news and discussions from across the web. While it uses the usual AI tools to curate this content, the site also has a team of editors who analyze the content to provide resources that are valuable to people within the tech industry.
In addition to displaying important articles, the site also includes links to similar articles covering the same news to give you a deeper perspective. It also includes Tweets from various accounts to complement that information. This one is worth checking out if you’re in the tech industry and don’t want the hassle of setting up your own RSS feed.
While there’s nothing wrong with relying on social media to discover popular content online, sometimes it’s healthy to tune out all the noise and focus on what matters. These tools give you an alternative way to stay informed, without information overload.
Of course, if you’re someone who reads a lot and also spends a lot of time on your phone, there are certain apps worth checking out. Apps like Blinkist and Libby are great examples.