Staying on top of it
In advertising and marketing, a big part of your job is to stay current. The tricky part is that we do marketing for other people, not ourselves. That means we're balancing the information flow to satisfy our own interests, but perhaps even moreso for our clients'. I have clients in automotive, mobile, gaming, and healthcare. That's a lot to keep track of -- those industries all move pretty fast and make news every day. Like you, I don't want to be caught off guard in any conversation, and certainly the creative work needs to reflect the most current popular culture events. Knowing the latest headlines is imperative.
So, being on the digital side of the business, I make it my business to use the latest resources for aggregating information, trends, and news. I use Twitter quite a bit. I also have a really good network of friends and co-workers who send articles and links through email pretty much every day. And I have perfected my bookmarks. But for the purposes of this list, I wanted to point out a new set of news aggregators that I think are moving beyond the simple RSS reader. These are the more customizable tools that can be shaped into exactly the right resource for the most important information you need to know -- that page that you can look at, scan across, and say, "OK, I have a good snapshot of what's going on in the world."
This is not an exhaustive list, but what follows are the news aggregators that have caught my eye recently. I tried to focus on the ones that seem the most unique, comprehensive, and have a nod toward design and user experience. That said, I'm sure I'm leaving more than a few out, so please leave your own favorites in the comments.
