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This blog post is divided in 3 parts:
- Why read blogs – I will try to convince you that it’s a good thing 🙂
- How to track new blogs posts- I will explain to you about RSS feeds and some application/software which can help you track/filter new blog posts.
- How to make a reading list or queue – I will tell you how could you make a queue/list of some kind so you can save interesting blogs to read later.
Any product mention here is just an example and I suggest you do your own search on the internet and decide what/which product works for you, please read their policies carefully.
Why read blogs
There are many ways to consume information or learn new things or get entertained. Videos, audio, forum discussions, blogs … the list goes on. Each has its own advantage and disadvantage.
Being in Tech, we have to keep learning, its not only a recommendation but almost mandatory.
Books and Courses ( on-demand or classroom) are a great way to learn fundamentals. These are written/created by experts, at a particular time, with some limitations. Creation or revision of Books and Courses take time ( although it’s changing now) and sometimes Author has limitations about what He/She cant write/say, for all kinds of reasons ( and when it comes to tech books, some books have hidden biased product marketing 🙂 ). When we learn about a topic, we often have to go beyond fundamentals-
- What’s the new development of this topic?
- How are people using it, globally?
- What problem it creates or solves?
- What kind of opinion others have?
- … list goes on.
This gap is filled by content ( Videos, Blogs, podcasts, mini-courses) created by many people who are maybe not full-time Authors/Content creators. Unlike books, this type of content is more frequent, opinionated/ or factual with new developments, often specific to a particular audience and with a more relatable daily live example.
With easy access to the Internet around the world, it’s fascinating to see how we get to reach a wide range of people and listen/learn from their experience/opinions. If I have a particular challenge or a thing I am trying to learn, there are many people who have had the same but learned/solved it in a different way because of their diverse opinion/background/reach/access.
Not everybody has time/resources/interest/comfort/confidence …. to make a particular type of content. Creating/editing a Video or podcast may not be always viable/possible but sometimes it can be easier to just write down something they want to share.
People write and you can benefit by reading all kinds of blogs:
- Quick/detailed tip – How to do a particular thing or how thing work.
- How to learn a particular thing/topic.
- What’s new about this.
- Their opinion about that new thing.
- ….
But reading has become a little hard since it can demand more focus and can be less entertaining/fun at times. It’s also the same reason you shouldn’t avoid it. Consuming diverse type of content and from diverse sources can benefit at great length.
For example, YouTube videos can be easy to consume. You can space out in between, the creator makes it more fun but more often ( and over time) to reach a larger audience, it becomes more about entertaining than sharing useful/dense information.
In fact, in some cases ( not always) Videos/podcasts have less useful information and more fillers and people with good presentation skills/ sense of humour outreach than those who have useful/good information to share.
To clarify:
- Not all videos/podcasts are bad.
- Not all blogs are good.
That’s why you should diversify and be selective. Just because you follow a channel/blog doesn’t mean all content is useful/good for you. Consuming content from diverse sources/forms helps you to gain a wider perspective.
It can also help you indirectly:
- Your retention improves for each form ( reading, listening, watching).
- You learn different presentation skills.
- You organize your time/learning better ( podcasts/videos are easy at commute but reading can be more fun at a quieter time).
- … and the list goes on.
To me, reading how someone in the same situation/job/lifestyle as me, thinks or solve a particular challenge is as good as some CEO or famous person thinks or solve a challenge. One source is more relatable, more realistic, less filtered and one is more researched, more experienced, and maybe wider view.
So, when I am browsing social media ( Linkedin ..) or listening/watching to a guest interview or I meet someone online/offline and I find they share their learnings, I keep it in my list. This brings me to the next section.
How to track new blogs post
Most of the blog sites can be tracked by subscribing to RSS feeds.
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. This URL explains in great depth but just to summarize in plain English, any websites if enabled for RSS can be tracked for new content using some kind of RSS reader software/application/browser plugin.
https://rss.com/blog/how-do-rss-feeds-work/
You can use software like Feedly or inoreader on your phone/pc/browser, go to subscribe new feed and enter any blog URL, do the same for all the blogs you want to follow and It will keep checking for new content and can show at one place.
In fact, many of this software can do a lot of things and can fetch content from all over the place to show you in 1 place.
Few examples:
- You can add your youtube/Twitter/Reddit… feeds as well to organize at 1 place.
- You can subscribe for keyword/trending topic name and it can search all over the place and feed you content.
- It can generate random email address to subscribe to the newsletter, so people don’t spam your email address.
- You can put all kinds of filter to avoid clickbait/redundant content or filter based on popularity.
- You can integrate your social media to share directly or can use other integration.
- …. list goes on. Just look for different product and compare and use what suits you best.
Most of these app/software is on “Freemium model”. The free version shows the ad, up to feeds/sources are free to subscribe, beyond that you gotta pay or this integration/automation needs pro access.
I am not endorsed or liable. Read the policies carefully. There may be more alternate and these are just 2 examples:
https://feedly.com/
https://www.inoreader.com/
I like inoreader because it gives 150 subscription and free integration to many other apps. To clarify, I am not asking you to read all content from all sources, in fact, I am asking you to avoid going to all websites to look for new content or to get everything on emails. The next step is how to make a queue/filter on what to read.
How to make a reading list or queue
Even if you follow a particular blog/source, not all content will be useful/interesting for you. Some blogs/content will take less time and some will need more time/ thorough reading or multiple reading.
Many times when I am trying to fix a tech issue and although I may have found a solution, I come across a document/blog which is exciting, but I am pressed by the time. Or someone sends something interesting to me or I find it in my feed while sipping coffee, If I finish it then and there, everything in my daily schedule will be affected.
I have a system in place or a way to manage my time/day but If/when I find something interesting, I always struggle to put it down. I like to read it till the end. So if something takes more than 5 minutes to read, I put that in the queue and any long content I only read from that queue.
There are software/apps like Pocket and Instapaper which can help you manage it. I use pocket, I have integrated it with browser/inoreader, have installed the app on my phone. So, I save it to pocket and on weekend I pick it up from there and read it.
https://getpocket.com/
https://www.instapaper.com/
These are also on “Freemium model” but for me free version is enough.
Conclusion
People learn things in a different way. Some enjoy the content based on strict/immediate need, there is nothing wrong with it as well. Some people want to learn/read proactively, some are curious about keeping up with new/more things, it’s good but it can also go wrong because we have a finite amount of time in a day so we have to prioritize things.
Nowadays, with help of the Internet, the challenge is not to find information but to be able to filter it. Having a system in place can help but never be perfect, so we have to keep adapting according to need/lifestyle. Also, If something works for me, doesn’t mean it will definitely work for you, if it works for you now doesn’t mean it will work for you forever.
So, everything you read so far in this blogs, at best, should help you to make an informed decision.
I hope this helps. If you have any suggestion/feedback/question, please feel free to leave a comment or DM me on Linkedin.
Thanks for your time.
