If you are reading this blog, you more than likely understand technology, Web 2.0 and actually use the Internet. And if you do, you are may be like me and have a lot of articles and post you really want to read. The problem, not enough time in the day. However, there might be an answer.
The other day, we had to take our son in for some oral surgery. This meant I was going to be semi-unplugged for most of the day. And for me, that is an awful feeling. I live and breathe online. I get my news, communicate with family and friends, interact with others and do my business online. I also do most of my reading online too.
What this day of being unplugged did was cause me to think about how I could take advantage of this time and actually get some reading done. Actually get a chance to read some of those articles and post I wanted to read. The answer was right in front of me. I use three particular tools in my everyday bookmarking of post I want to file away. And I use an iPhone which allows me to not be completely unplugged. The iPhone also gives me the ability to use some of these tools even if my trusty MacBook is sitting in my Timbuk2 bag. And while I was sitting in the outpatient surgery waiting room, I used my iPhone and these applications to catch up on some reading.
The Tools
First and the one almost everyone knows about is Delicious which I use everyday to file away for later reference, post I want to save. I don’t see myself as a power Delicious user. I do save a number of post per day. And, there is a Delicious app for the iPhone. The Delicious app for the iPhone looks and works very similar to the one you are use to using on your computer. And it allows you to catch up on reading some of those bookmarked post when are you sitting around in a waiting room.
Next, and a recent addition to the playing field is Evernote. Evernote is more than a bookmarking tool. However, we are talking about taking our reading with us and Evernote does allow this. And you can “tag” the post and articles you save to Evernote so they are easier to find. Just like the other tools we are mentioning, Evernote also works on the iPhone. Which means, like Delicious, you can read those post and articles on your iPhone while you are unplugged from your computer. However, unlike Delicious, Evernote does have a desktop clients so you don’t have to be plugged in to the Internet to read the saved articles and post on your computer. (Evernote has a ton of other features and uses and I will do a future post here to discuss them).
Finally, and the one I use a lot is Instapaper. Instapaper is easy to use. You place a bookmarklet in your tool bar on your browser. And when you want to save a post or article to read later, you simple click the “Read Later” button and it is saved. And like the other two application, Instapaper also has an iPhone application that also works offline.
What each of these tools allows you to do is to save articles and post to read later. And each works with the iPhone. Two of the three also allow you to read those saved items while you are unplugged from the Internet. So the next time you are sitting in a waiting room or just sitting around waiting on the wife at the mall, you can catch up on some reading and mark that off your to-do list.