In the world of social networking, we are bombarded with hundreds of links to interesting articles around the web from various different sources. Twitter and Facebook have become extremely popular for posting links that bring value to one’s fans and followers. I am a total sucker for clicking on a link and getting wrapped up in an interesting article or website. Before I know it, I’ve spent a half an hour reading web articles when I should have been doing other stuff during the middle of the day. I’ve known about Instapaper for quite a while now, but I never gave it a chance until my best friend explained to me how he uses it. Instapaper is a simple, yet effective bookmarking tool that is used best for bookmarking web articles to read later. What I like about it is that it doesn’t require a tagging system or anything else that takes too much time to set up. You just tap on its bookmarklet, it saves the link to the article, and keeps the links stored on the web for you to check out later.
For Web Surfers
If you are a blogger, freelancer, or anyone else that spends a lot of time in front of a computer throughout the day, you know how easy it is to get caught up in an interesting article. Here’s what you need to do to set it up:
- Visit Instapaper’s website, and sign up for an account. You don’t even need to use a password if you are sick of remembering passwords, and who cares if someone hacks into it. It’s just virtual paper!
- Drag the “Read Later” icon into your Firefox or Safari bookmark bar.
- When you follow a link to an article but realize that it’s a lengthy article and you don’t have time for it, click on the “Read Later” bookmark and Instapaper will save
For iPhone Users
- Follow Step 1 Above
- Download and install the Instapaper iPhone App from iTunes. Search, “instapaper” from your iPhone while in the “App Store” app on your iPhone.
- Save the Instapaper bookmarklet in your Safari or Firefox bookmarks, then sync your iPhone bookmarks with your browser bookmarks.
How I Use Instapaper
When I stumble across an article from a link on my Twitter or Facebook stream, I bookmark it using Instapaper. When I have some free time later in the day or week, I open up my Instapaper iPhone app, and I have dozens of articles to read at my leisure. Here are some good times to get reading done without invading in your work time:
- While you are on the toilet
- While you are waiting in a long line
- While you are waiting in the doctor’s office
- While you are at the gym doing a cardio workout
- While you are walking your dog
- While you are eating lunch by yourself
Don’t let social media be a distraction in your life. It should complement your life, not consume it. Being efficient with social media is an effective and efficient way to utilize its benefits.
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