Things happen quickly and you need to stay on top of that, especially if there’s breaking news. You don’t want to make a post on social media that is contradictory or insensitive to something that’s just happened. It’s very critical that you keep up-to-date on what’s happening and what’s going on in your area. 

1. Apple app

The Apple app has some of the best news feeds. It allows your to personalize your news feed. It’s free, but for an additional $9 you can have a subscription to over 300 different magazines, including U.S. News and World Reports, Sports Illustrated, that kind of stuff. I like it because it allows you to personalize your news feed, so I can look for information that’s specifically related to social media. I find that super helpful, rather than trying to slog through everything. 

2. Google news app (iPhone) (Android)

Google also produces a news app that focuses on the top five stories daily. But they will also send you updates throughout the day, so if there is a tragedy or something urgent that is happening they will break in and add the upcoming news. A lot of these apps will only update you once a day, but Google will keep you posted if something important happens.

3. Feedly

This app allows you to follow not only topics but specific blogs, keywords, social media accounts, etc. It really does allow you to have a more customized experience. 

4. Flipboard

Very similar to Feedly, but with main difference is that Flipboard formats it so it’s more attractive which sounds silly, but you’re much more likely to stop and read a story if it’s visually appealing. Flipboard makes the news look more like a magazine would look instead of just news articles or news feeds coming through. It might be easier to digest, especially if you don’t have a long attention span.

5. Pocket

Pocket is really cool, and it’s something you can use in conjunction with all these apps. It’s basically like the “save it for later” button on Facebook. So if I see a cool video or I see something I can use for content, I’ll save it for later in a folder — Pocket allows you to do that for everything. You can save information from Pinterest, from Apple, from Google or Feedly or Flipboard and you put it into pocket in the save it for later category. I don’t always have time to read everything when I find it so I love Pocket.

6. The Skimm

Designed for millennials who have a shorter attention span because they’re bombarded with information, The Skim creates daily, short, easily digestible summations. You can click through and get additional information on anything but they’re made to be concise. The Skim is pretty cool and it comes directly to your email every day and gives you a summation, and you can browse by category. So if I want to look up “spring cleaning,” it’s going to give me all the spring cleaning articles but it’s going to give me a summarized version. Then I can go in and do a deeper dive later.