Greener Pathtures: Part Two

Note: This post is Part Two in a three-part series about a social network called Path. It’s also about social networks in general and which ones are worth it. Be sure to read Part One first. Part Three is here.

This is an important quest. We are spending more and more of our time interacting with each other on the Internet. As such, I believe we must choose the highest quality methods of doing so. But which?

Part Two: My Network of Social Networks

In Part One, I talked about what Path is. Here, I will discuss the social networks I currently use and how I feel about them. This exploration will help us determine what role Path can fulfill, if any.

Facebook

Facebook sucks. Everybody knows it, but everybody’s on it, so nobody can disconnect from it. If you’re still in that phase where “Facebook stalking” is a thing, I can’t help you. The older I get, the more I realize just how useless Facebook is. I’ve hidden everybody I don’t care about, and I still rarely find anything of value in my News Feed.

The people I actually love, I see or text on a regular basis. The news sources I actually care about, I subscribe to via RSS or Twitter. The events I actually want to go to, I don’t hear about through Facebook invites. The games I actually enjoy playing are not about planting virtual crops. As for photos, I just don’t care about putting them up on Facebook anymore. If I think you’ll like a photo I took, I’ll text it to you or show you on my phone when we hang out. Or I’ll tweet it. I don’t need everyone to see the hundred pictures I took on vacation. It’s probably none of your business anyway.

Facebook is a means for people to feel validated on the Internet. It feels good when someone Likes your post or comments on your photo. It feels good to read other people’s sad Facebook statuses, or to see how fat that bitch from high school has become, or to check if so-and-so is single. It feels good to know someone is having a worse day than you. It’s all a distraction.

Organizations are no better. I cringe when I see respectable businesses telling people to “Like us on Facebook!” As if that’s going to help you or anybody. Facebook is a waste of time. How much of a waste of time depends on the user. It’s social titillation, and it’s shallow and lame.

Hey, jerkface. If you hate Facebook so much, why don’t you just delete your account?

An excellent point. I should, but there are two main reasons why I haven’t yet.

1. The Quarter-Life Enlightenment Facebook page. While I personally see little value in Facebook, I can understand the fact that some might use it as their primary news source. I want to provide as many ways as possible to subscribe to QLE, be it Twitter, RSS, email, or Facebook. If you’re on Facebook every day, then Liking the QLE page might be the easiest way for you to stay up-to-date on new posts.

2. I’m fortunate to not be affected by Facebook’s addictive qualities. Usually, I just read the new posts in my News Feed a couple of times a day, and then I close it. I don’t look at people’s profiles or pictures, and I very rarely search for anything specific. Thus, the need for me to disconnect from Facebook is less severe than it might be for other users. It’s definitely a matter of time though.

Twitter

I love Twitter. You know this. Twitter is a tool. And it is fun.

William Gibson:

[Facebook and MySpace] feel like malls to me. But Twitter actually feels like the street. You can bump into anybody on Twitter.

Yes. I’ve interacted with people I greatly admire on Twitter who might have otherwise never known I existed. That’s really cool.

The beauty of Twitter is its simplicity. There is no forced, awkward Internet friendship. You’re either following someone, or you’re not. The 140 character limit cuts out all the crap. You have to think about what you say and how you say it. Twitter reflects the way I feel about relationships, in the sense that you actively choose who you want in your feed. You can follow celebrities, athletes, writers, politicians… whomever you feel contributes value to your life. There is no obligatory, regrettable acceptance of friend requests.

Twitter is a wonderful ongoing conversation. I love it very much.

Instagram

I love Instagram, but I mainly use it for its integration with Twitter. If I take a photo I want to share, I’ll usually take it with Instagram and post it to Twitter in addition to my Instagram profile. It’s a great app — well-designed, fun, and simple to use. Plus, it has a widespread user base. Every iPhone user I know uses Instagram.

Google+

Google+ is weird. It’s like Google Facebook for nerds. Some people have really started to use it as a publishing platform, but I haven’t felt compelled to do anything more than post a link each day, like the Facebook fan page. I’ve yet to find a way to automate this process. Google+’s interface is certainly nicer than Facebook’s, but it’s become quite clear that people are having a hard time switching.

In addition, there’s been a lot of talk recently about users moving away from Google because of their increasing tendency to “be evil”. Many have taken to DuckDuckGo for their searching needs. I’m heavily invested in Gmail, so I haven’t yet begun to get off Google, but it is on my radar.

MySpace

Hahaha.

Foursquare, Gowalla, etc.

I’ve never really used location-based check-in services, mainly because I rarely feel compelled to let people know where I am. From time to time, I’ll add a location to a picture in Instagram if I think it’s relevant, but that’s all.

SoundTracking, Last.fm, etc.

I love music, and I often want to share what I’m listening to with people. Posting lyrics as tweets or statuses isn’t very effective, so I’m more interested in services that allow you to post a preview of the song you’re listening to. That way, if I post about a song by The Long Winters, people can click through and listen to what I’m hearing. I prefer that to only posting out-of-context lyrics.

I had a Last.fm account a while back, but I don’t use it anymore. I’ve taken to posting songs with the SoundTracking app, which works well enough. Nobody is on SoundTracking itself, so I use it to post songs to Twitter. It gets the job done.

LinkedIn

I can’t really take LinkedIn seriously. To me, it feels like adults were jealous of Facebook and decided they needed to get in on the game. LinkedIn feels like Facebook for adults, rationalized under the pretense of “networking”.

So, what about Path?

Where does Path fit into all this, if at all? My online social needs are being fulfilled by the above services with varying degrees of efficiency. Is there any room for Path? Can it replace or supplement any of my existing social networks, or is it just another unnecessary account? That’s what I’ll be discussing next.

Tune in tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion to Greener Pathtures!

If you enjoyed or benefitted from this article, please consider sharing it with the button below! Also, you should follow me on Twitter.

Greener Pathtures: Part One

Note: This post is Part One in a three-part series about a social network called Path. It’s also about social networks in general and which ones are worth it. Also check out Part Two and Part Three.

This is an important quest. We are spending more and more of our time interacting with each other on the Internet. As such, I believe we must choose the highest quality methods of doing so. But which?

Second Note: Path recently came under fire for sending users’ Address Books up to their servers without consent. Path claimed this was being done to make it easy to find family and friends in the app. Path has since apologized, deleted all Address Book records, and updated the app to ask permission before accessing user contacts.

I believe Path made an honest mistake and has now done the right thing. I do not believe Path had or has malicious intent. Keep in mind that many apps have access to your data, and please do form your own opinion about this issue.

Part One: A Crazy Little Thing Called Path

Over the weekend, I tweeted that I really want to use Path, but very few people I know are on it.

It’s a shame, because Path is a gorgeous app. It’s beautifully designed in terms of both aesthetics and functionality. It’s versatile. It’s fun to use.

But it’s a social network, and unfortunately, that means it has to overcome a serious barrier to entry. In a world where Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and innumerable others reign supreme, is there room for Path?

I think yes, but we will need convincing if we are to let this relative newcomer onto our smartphones. You see, the nature of Path itself is a conundrum.

What is this “Path” you speak of?

To explain what I mean, here’s a brief overview of Path.

Path is a social network designed to help you “share life with the ones you love”. It comes in the form of a free iPhone or Android app. Think of it as your own private Facebook, only instead of friending every person you’ve ever met, you only add people who matter. Path encourages exclusivity. Or perhaps more accurately, Path encourages intimacy, as the video on their website demonstrates. It’s designed for sharing with close friends and family members. Imagine if you whittled down your 600 Facebook friends to the fifty or so you actually cared about. That’s Path, only in a much more beautiful package and without the Farmville, poking, and advertisements.

Path allows you to capture and share moments in a variety of ways. You can take a picture and apply filters (think Instagram), check into locations with people (think Foursquare or Gowalla), post a song you’re listening to (think SoundTracking or Last.fm), post a thought (think Twitter), or log when you wake up or go to sleep. You can also link your Path to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or Foursquare to post the same moment in different places. Watch the demo to get a good idea of what Path is all about.

As you can see, Path provides a sort of all-in-one social network, but therein lies the problem. If you already use some of the above services, why bother joining something new? And why should your friends join it?

Path’s usefulness hinges on whether or not people you know are already using the app, and so we are presented with a paradox: a social network designed for you and your closest friends, but one which many of your friends may be reluctant to join.

Can we convince ourselves to leave the raging house party of Facebook for the quiet, intimate living room of Path?

To answer that question, I’m going to examine all of my current social networks to determine whether or not there is room for Path.

Tune in tomorrow for Part Two of Greener Pathtures, in which I eviscerate Facebook, fawn over Twitter, and wonder if anybody still uses MySpace.

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Tweetbot vs. Twitterrific

Yesterday may forever be known as the Day of Tweetbot.

Not only did Tapbots release version 2.0 of Tweetbot for iPhone, they also unleashed Tweetbot for iPad, both of which were met with much fanfare on the interwebs.

Lots has already been written about Tweetbot (see Federico Viticci’s reviews of Tweetbot 2.0 and Tweetbot for iPad, in particular), and the majority of reviews are overwhelmingly positive. Personally, I’ve always been a diehard Twitterrific fan across all of my devices. However, Tweetbot has recently managed to supplant Twitterrific’s position on my home screen. Here’s why.

A Few Words About Twitterrific

First of all, I love Twitterrific. Anybody would do well to use it as their main Twitter client, but there are two features that I would use to determine whether Twitterrific is right for someone. The first is simplicity. If you enjoy a minimalist, yet capable, design, you’ll probably find Twitterrific to be a wonderful experience.

The second feature is less an issue of aesthetics and more an issue of function, and that’s the unified timeline. All tweets, mentions, and direct messages show up in Twitterrific’s main timeline. This is great if you: A) read every tweet, or B) don’t follow many people.

One usually informs the other. If you follow hundreds of people, you probably don’t read every tweet and are content to just jump in and read whatever’s going on in your timeline at the moment. If you follow a smaller number of people, you might like to read all of the tweets since the last time you checked Twitter.

Users in the former category will probably dislike Twitterrific’s unified timeline because the lack of a dedicated Mentions tab makes it easier for them to miss replies and mentions. On the other hand, if you read every tweet anyway, you’ll see your mentions as you scroll through your timeline, and you probably won’t miss having a separate Mentions tab.

I’m obligated here to mention something about gap handling. Gaps are what happens when you don’t check Twitter for several hours, and you missed more tweets than your client is capable of loading at one time. Most apps offer some sort of “Load More” option when this happens, at which point you have two options: skip the old, unloaded tweets, or tap to load them manually.

I don’t know the specific technical requirements that go into making an efficient “Load More Tweets” mechanism, but I will say that Tweetbot handles gaps consistently better than Twitterrific. Again, how many people you follow and how you read Twitter will determine whether this is a selling point for you.

In any case, do note that Twitterrific does have a Mentions-only view, it’s just two taps away. From your main timeline, you need to tap your username in the upper left-hand corner to get to your account screen. From here, you can choose to view All Tweets, Mentions, Messages, Favorites, Lists, or search Twitter. So it is there, but it’s out of the way due to the minimalist, clutter-free design.

Behold the Power of Tweetbot

One phrase that’s often heard in association with Tweetbot is “Power User”, and I will agree that those are the people who are going to prefer Tweetbot the most. That’s not to say casual users won’t like it, but Tweetbot’s abundant features will speak to those who use Twitter as a tool, rather than as a diversion.

The most prominent feature of Tweetbot is the unmistakable Tapbots style. Tapbots’ apps have a particular look to them, and if that look doesn’t agree with you, you might as well stop reading now. The interface doesn’t quite match Twitterrific in simplicity, but it’s just as clean and pretty to look at. The bottom toolbar has tabs for Tweets, Mentions, and Direct Messages, and you can customize the last two tabs by assigning things like Profile, Favorites, or Retweets, depending on which features you use most. The app scrolls very smoothly in a way that’s hard to describe. Tapping a tweet reveals the tweet drawer, which contains Reply, Retweet, Favorite, Options, and Detailed View buttons. Tapping and holding on avatars and links brings up a variety of options, like muting or sending to Instapaper.

New to Tweetbot are inline photos, which show you a thumbnail view within the tweet itself, and a New Tweets bar that shows you how many tweets you have left to read. Other new features and tweaks are too numerous to mention, but all are for the better. Despite being a day old, the iPad version is just as functional, and of course you can sync timeline position with the iPhone version via Tweet Marker. Tweetbot is one app where exploring the Settings menu is an absolute must, as there are many customizable options to be found.

Why I Switched from Twitterrific to Tweetbot

Again, Twitterrific is great, and for most users it should be a lovely fit. But, Tweetbot contains features that I — as a guy who writes a thousand words about Twitter apps — need and want.

The first is List Management. Tweetbot allows you to create and edit lists, while Twitterrific only lets you view them. If you don’t use lists, it’s not a problem, but I keep lists for apps, services, and people I don’t need on my main timeline, but still like to check in with once in a while, like bands or tech writers.

Second is the ability to mute people for specific periods of time. I was getting ready to go see one of my favorite bands in New York City a few weeks ago, and I didn’t want to see the previous night’s setlist, which the band tweets during each show. I could have unfollowed the band for a day and then refollowed them, but that would have been a pain. Instead, Tweetbot allowed me mute their account for twenty-four hours, so I never saw the setlist. After, their tweets reappeared in my timeline. No need to remember to follow them again. You can mute someone for a day, a week, a month, or forever. Handier than you might think.

Then there are other features like Favstar integration, Retweet views, and a Mobilizer switch for the in-app browser. You can tell Tweetbot to “sleep” and not bother you during certain hours of the day. I can’t possibly go into every little feature, so suffice it to say I’ve yet to find a need Tweetbot cannot fulfill for me. This is an app that was lovingly crafted by a company with an astounding attention to detail.

The choice between these two apps comes down to simplicity versus power. Both are beautiful, well-designed apps, so ask yourself if you need Twitter to have less or more features. While I love Twitterrific and will continue to keep an eye on its future updates, as well as recommend it to others, Tweetbot is now my default Twitter client for iPhone and iPad. Its beautiful design and rich features make it fun to use and a powerful asset on my home screen.

You can buy Twitterrific, Tweetbot 2.0 for iPhone and Tweetbot for iPad on the App Store.

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Favorite Apps: Launch Center

There’s been quite a bit of buzz this week over App Cubby’s new app, Launch Center. Here’s the blurb:

Launch apps and trigger actions from a quick, easy to use app! Call a friend, start an email, send a text, post to Twitter, turn on a flashlight — get to where you’re going faster than ever before.

Now, I’ll admit that I didn’t see the appeal of such an app at first. All of my apps are literally a tap or three away. Why would I possibly need an app to launch my apps?! It’s so recursive!

But a few trustworthy folks, including Dave Caolo and Federico Viticci, seemed pretty excited about Launch Center, so I figured I’d give it a whirl. Lo and behold, I discovered much usefulness in this app-launching app, and it’s definitely worth checking out.

As App Cubby’s description indicates, Launch Center allows you to create shortcuts to your favorite apps and actions within those apps. These include speed dialing, texting, launching an app or website, emailing, and tweeting, among others.

Launch Center itself is a sparse, but pretty, app. When you open it, you see your list of shortcuts, and you can either tap one of them or edit the list to add/remove shortcuts. That’s it.

So, why might you want to use this? Why not just open Messages when you want to send a message, or Mail when you want to send an email? The answer lies in saving precious seconds.

Let’s take texting, for example. The number of people I text on a near-daily basis is small, and I delete my text conversations every few days. Starting a new text conversation with someone is slightly tedious, because I have to tap Messages, type the first few letters of their name, make sure to avoid tapping anyone with similar letters, select the person, tap the message field, and then finally compose my text.

Launch Center eliminates this friction. I can create a shortcut for “Text Keith”, and it automatically switches to Messages, addresses the text to Keith, and puts the cursor in the message field so I can start typing immediately. That’s about half the taps of doing it manually, which may not seem like much — HOW LAZY CAN YOU BE?! — but you can feel the difference.

Speed dialing is also useful. The two people I actually call the most are my mom and dad, and tapping Phone, scrolling through all my contacts or recent calls, then tapping the appropriate phone number is tedious. Even Phone » Favorites » Mom is three taps. With Launch Center, I create a “Call Mom” shortcut for her cell phone, and it takes two taps to make the call. Launch Center » Call Mom. Hence App Cubby’s slogan, “Tap. Tap. Go!”

You can tweet right from Launch Center using iOS 5, or post directly to Facebook. You can also add shortcuts to other apps on your phone. Why would you want to do this? Here’s where you need to get creative.

I love Instagram, but I don’t keep it on my home screen. When I want to take an Instagram photo, I have to swipe to my second page of apps and tap Instagram, which probably opens the Feed view. Chances are I want to take a picture, so I have to tap again on the Share button to open the Instagram camera. This process takes a long… time… especially when you’re trying to capture a moment on the spot.

Launch Center allows you to create shortcuts to specific actions in supported apps. In Instagram’s case, you can create a shortcut that takes you right to the camera. Once again, half the taps.

The other benefit is that you can essentially access apps that aren’t on your home screen from your home screen. Say you keep Maps in a folder on page four of your iPhone. When you need to know how to get somewhere, finding that app is going to be a pain in the ass. But, if you have Launch Center on your home screen, two taps and you’re there. BOOM. This is wonderful because it makes choosing your home screen apps a little less stressful. Any supported app can be two taps away with a Launch Center shortcut, and you can do the same thing with websites. Safari » Bookmarks » Website becomes Launch Center » Website.

So, don’t dismiss this app-launching app; it can save you precious seconds and tedious taps. Check it out, especially if you have pages and pages of apps. Version 1.2 was just released, and it will be exciting to see how App Cubby increases its functionality in future versions. Launch Center has earned a spot on my home screen, and I’m feeling good about it.

You can buy Launch Center for $0.99 on the App Store.

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How I Remove Friction from Writing

Aaron Mahnke has a great post on Frictionless Writing:

Any place I can find friction, and remove it, is an area of my life or business that I can push closer to my goals. So naturally, I am constantly on the lookout for ways to smooth my processes and methods for doing things. And my writing time is no different. Over the years I have gathered a number of helpful tips for making the writing process as smooth and frictionless as possible

I think about this concept often. As I wrote in a recent post, the easier it is to start writing, the better the chance of writing actually taking place. Writing could be as simple as opening a new document on your computer, but sometimes even that seems like a lot of work. So the goal is to make that process as simple as possible. For example, I use Alfred to launch Byword (a very frictionless text editor) in just a couple of keystrokes. It's easier than going down to my dock or into the Finder to double click on an application. Those few seconds often make a big difference.

Capture

Aaron divides his frictionless writing process into three areas, the first of which is Capture. After reading Getting Things Done by David Allen, I realized how important it is to be able to capture any idea — no matter how small — in the moment. It frees you from trying to remember things, which keeps your brain clear, calm, and relaxed.

My iPhone is always within arm's reach, so I often capture ideas in Omnifocus or Notesy. I also just started playing with Noted!, an app I found via Patrick Rhone. It lets you instantly type and email a note to yourself, which works well for me. I keep my inbox empty as much as possible, so if there's something in there, it means something needs my attention. I'll often email a tweet to myself if it contains a link I don't have time to check out at the time. I'm always going to check my email, so putting things there is a good way to ensure I don't miss anything.

I bought my first pack of Field Notes late last year. They're great, but I haven't yet developed the habit of carrying one with me all the time. I'm torn between keeping my pockets empty and being able to jot something down freehand. Carrying a notebook also means carrying a pen, so I have to give it some more thought. I'm leaning towards carrying one though.

Speaking of writing freehand, I also keep a scratchpad next to my computer, which is great for capturing random thoughts, making lists, and outlining posts while I'm at my desk.

I usually get ideas when I'm reading my RSS feeds in Reeder. I always get my feeds down to zero every couple of days, so when I come across something that I want to link to/write about, I just keep it unread until I have time to do so.

Manage

Management, Aaron's second aspect of frictionless writing, is probably my least systemized. All of my writing for this website is stored in a single folder in Dropbox. Link posts are named in a "Link - Author Title" format, while my original pieces are named with their title.

Now that I think about it, practically everything on my computer is stored in Dropbox. I've yet to setup a proper backup solution, but if my computer did spontaneously combust, all of my documents would be retrievable via Dropbox. My passwords and software information is stored in 1Password, and most of my apps are from the Mac App Store and easy to redownload. All of my music is kept on an external hard drive and is synced with iCloud/iTunes Match. I'm not a huge picture or video guy, but I suppose I do need a backup plan for those. At some point, I'll buy a second external hard drive and make copies with SuperDuper. According to DaisyDisk, I'm only using 47 GB of my MacBook Pro's 250 GB hard drive, and I could probably stand to clear some stuff out. Good to know when buying my next Mac.

Prioritize

Aaron concludes with the importance of Prioritization:

So after finding the best method for capturing your ideas, and building the right system for managing all of it, the final key is to install a sense of urgency and priority around our ideas. To grow as a writer, it is important to write. And it is easier to sit down to write with a nicely collected tome of ideas and sketches than it is when you can’t remember the great ideas you know you’ve lost.

This is something I've been trying to focus on in the new year, especially as I try to write more original pieces for the site. Writing something of my own Monday through Friday is a challenge, but the thrill of hitting Publish and sharing it with others is incredibly rewarding and worth it. But, my publishing goal also means I can't afford to skimp on my capture or management systems. If my system makes it easy to lose ideas, writing becomes much harder. Any stray thought could develop into a great idea, which could turn into a strong post. As such, I need to minimize the risk of losing my ideas by being able to capture and manage my thoughts quickly and easily.

The systems I have in place seem to be working pretty well so far, but I'll undoubtedly continue to tinker and refine them as time goes on. Writing is hard work, so like Aaron, my biggest focus is to make it as frictionless as possible. The easier it is to get ideas out of my head and onto my computer screen, the more likely others will get to read them.

Game Over, iPhone

I’m a proponent of removing clutter. A clean workspace, physical or digital, helps reduce stress by eliminating distractions and adding lightness to your day. When the weight of clutter is removed from your desk, it’s also removed from your mind. Clean is calm.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to take a drastic step and delete the Games folder on my iPhone.

Going game-less on the iPhone is something Stephen Hackett has talked about on his site, 512 Pixels. I touched on it, but only recently have I decided to adopt Stephen’s thinking.

iOS is a terrific gaming platform, and there are many fun and beautifully designed games out there. But, in the four years I’ve owned an iPhone, there’s never been a game that has held my attention for very long. Maybe a month, if I was playing it with a friend, but such games are rare. Even ports of games I loved as a child, like Mega Man and Chrono Trigger, go mostly unplayed after the first couple of days.

So, I’ve decided to try getting rid of them, and I think the benefits will outweigh the consequences.

1. No games = more space. Some games are pretty large and take up quite a bit of room on my phone. This isn’t a huge problem because I own a 32GB model iPhone 4, but now that iCloud is in full effect, I’m keeping more and more music on my phone instead of a separate iPod. There’s simply no reason to take up valuable space with unused apps, games included.

2. No games = save money. I know: most iOS games are a couple of bucks at the most, but those dollars add up. According to iTunes, I’ve downloaded 240 apps since I got my first iPhone circa 2008. Some of those were free, but some of them were $4.99 or more. If I don’t have a Games folder on my iPhone, I’ll hesitate before buying any new games, especially since I can’t stand the thought of a folder with only two apps in it.

3. No games = more productive. As I said, I’d rarely play the games on my iPhone, so it’s not like they were preventing me from getting things done. However, sometimes I’d choose a mindless game over doing something more useful, like reading an article in my Instapaper queue. Some may argue that it’s good to mindlessly play a game for a few minutes during a work or study break, but I think reading — or even not looking at a screen at all — is far more relaxing.

4. No games = guilt-free. Most would argue that games don’t have feelings, but it’s hard not to feel bad about never playing that $9.99 5-star role-playing game you splurged on two weeks ago. Gone are those negative feelings; every little bit helps.

I’m probably going to personally offend a few friends with this decision, so let’s call it an experiment for now. I’m keeping the games on my iPad for the time being, since its larger screen is better suited for playing. As for my iPhone, unless the greatest game of all time becomes available for iOS, I can’t imagine I’ll miss my old Games folder. Although, if that day comes, I might have to give it a spot on my home screen.

Tame Instapaper with ReadNow

ReadNow is a Read It Later and Instapaper app for the Mac:

ReadNow gives you access to your Instapaper or Read It Later accounts in a single easy-to-use application. Within ReadNow you can manage your read later account without logging in to the services via browser. With ReadNow all stored articles are just one mouse click away. Its design offers you a fast navigation and will save you time storing and accessing articles you are planning to read.

I love Instapaper, but I’m guilty of letting my account overflow with thousands of articles I’ve promised to read later. The fact is I usually have too much to read just keeping up with RSS and Twitter.

One of the ways I manage to keep my RSS feeds under control is by using a great RSS app. Reeder is my preference on the Mac, iPad, and iPhone because it allows me to process hundreds of new RSS items quickly and efficiently. It’s both functional and enjoyable to use, so I rarely have trouble zeroing out my Google Reader.

Instapaper is an entirely different beast. When I send something to Instapaper, I’m promising to sit down with it one-on-one and read it slowly and carefully. By its very nature, Instapaper is a service meant for reading, not skimming and processing. At least, that’s how I feel.

An Instapaper’d article is one I believe contains unmissable information. Of course, that’s not always the case, and that’s where ReadNow comes in.

ReadNow is like Reeder for Instapaper. It allows me to quickly process articles that have been sitting in my account for years(!), waiting to be read. It comes with gestures for navigation and archiving, so I can fly through a hundred articles in half an hour. I can read the most worthwhile items and archive the rest with a swipe, just like Reeder allows me to do with RSS. Short of deleting my entire account, I can’t think of a better way to manage Instapaper overflow.

Read Later Guilt is a terrible affliction among us web nerds, and ReadNow is the solution I’ve been waiting for. It’s efficient Instapaper processing in a clean, simple UI, and its brand new 2.0 release is only $3.99 in the App Store. Highly recommended.

Twitter Changes

John Gruber, responding to an article by Nick Bilton about the new Twitter UI:

Maybe today’s new Twitter UI is better for new Twitter users. But even if that’s true, it’s not because it hides @ and # symbols the way that the Mac did away with the code-driven command line. And frankly, I don’t buy that’s simpler at all. In the old Twitter, you saw only what you asked to be shown (by following people). Now, they’re showing you all sorts of things you never asked for and can’t control.

As I’ve alluded to before, the beauty of Twitter is its simplicity. There is no forced artificial friendship. You’re either following someone, or you’re not. The changes to Twitter.com and the official iPhone app are disheartening, to say the least.

I don’t use Twitter.com very often, but when I do, I have Chris Masterson’s Feather extension installed, which cleans up the UI quite nicely. Likewise, I don’t use the official Twitter for iPhone app because I prefer Twitterrific’s simplicity and unified timeline.

I realize that Twitter needs to monetize their service, but I hope they remain true to their values in the process. Unlike Facebook, which I only tolerate, and Google+, which is still pretty nerd-oriented, I genuinely enjoy Twitter. It’s by far my favorite social network, and I’d hate to see it go downhill.

Something Worse

Stephen Hackett, responding to a post from Maciej Ceglowski of Pinboard:

I just don’t get people who refuse to pay for iOS apps or good web services. I paid for Pinboard, Tweetbot, Instapaper, MarsEdit and a hundred other apps and services because they are all part of my workflow. Without them, I’d be stuck using something else.

"Rote Simplicity"

Frank Chimero:

I’m skeptical of rote simplicity. It’s good for the people making digital tools to simplify their job and make one tiny widget, but a swarm of tools that all do one tiny thing well is still a complex system for the user to manage.

Ben Brooks offered a few thoughts about this, too.

I love apps that do “one thing well”, but as Ben points out, it’d be a pain to have to open 45 apps to do 45 different tasks. But I also can’t imagine having 45 different tasks to do, let alone needing an app to complete each one.

Looking at my iPhone home screen, I feel I’ve pared my apps down to the essentials. While the iPhone is capable of performing thousands of different tasks, I choose to use mine only for those that are most important to me. In fact, I can say I mainly use my iPhone for reading, writing, and capturing, in addition to communication. I could use it for a ton of other things, but these are the most important. I think that’s why my iPhone only has two to three pages of apps.

For me, it comes down to simplifying my priorities rather than only using simple apps. Ten pages of “one thing well” apps is a complex setup. Rather, I say be judicious in determining what you actually need to be able to do, and then choose the apps that meet those needs most effectively.

I Am My Settings

Devir Kahan on the issue of choice and stress:

There is a certain bliss when you don’t have to make a choice. Or more specifically, when a choice is made for you. Most all of our stress comes from having to make choices, so why not take some of that stress away? Well, because having choices made for us can result in some bad choices, and ones we don’t agree with. I need to be able to choose and configure certain things just how I like them.

I totally agree. Choice is a source of stress, perhaps not in a harmful way, but in a this-is-making-me-hesitate sort of way. But really that hesitation evidences who and what I am, which is awesomely nerdy.

When it comes to app settings, I’m usually pretty good with the “set it and forget it” strategy. In fact, the first thing I usually do upon installing a new app is go through its preferences, tweaking them as I see fit. Once the app is configured to my liking, I don’t revisit the settings unless additional preferences are added via an update. Something like buying a stick of deodorant, however, can take me upwards of ten minutes, even though it doesn’t matter at all which scent I choose. (Must be the fear of smelling like the wrong kind of tree.)

As a nerd, I like to fiddle. I like settings and preferences. Like Devir says, customization allows me to make things my own. People may complain about how iOS’s closed system isn’t customizable like Android’s in the sense that you can’t change how the icons or the operating system looks. But I feel my iPhone is so uniquely my iPhone because of the apps that reside on my home screen, the apps I’ve chosen to put there. These apps, with their respective qualities, values, and features, define me. OmniFocus represents my love for GTD; Twitterrific my love for simplicity; Reeder my love for quality writing; Instacast my love for nerdy podcasts; Music my love for eclectic artists; Notesy my love for capturing random thoughts and ideas.

I guess my point is that my passion for tinkering — for making little choices — allows me to arrive at a place that suits me best. My former girlfriend once made a comment while I was driving, something along the lines of, “There’s a reason for everything you do, isn’t there?” And yes, that’s exactly it. There’s a reason why I keep my sunglasses in the overhead compartment in my car instead of in my center console. There’s a reason why I use a cassette adapter to listen to my iPod, rather than an FM transmitter. There’s a reason why Reeder is on my home screen, but Instapaper isn’t, even though I love both.

The reason is I’ve tried — or at least considered — the alternatives and, in doing so, have determined what’s best for me. Some people can’t be bothered with changing fonts or scrolling through settings, but for me, those few minutes are well spent because they ultimately allow me to remove friction from my experience. Choice is a wonderful thing because it gives me control. As long as the choices don’t overwhelm and paralyze me (as in the case of deodorant), I find joy in making these little decisions; they’re a product of my identity.

The Cards App

Shawn Blanc on Apple’s Cards app:

In short, I’m impressed with everything about the Cards app except for the app itself. But that’s a minor issue. With a kid on the way whose grandparents live in another state, the Cards app will be getting regular use from the Blanc household.

I agree. I’ve sent a couple of cards using the app, and it’s pretty great, although an iPad version would be much more convenient. The cards themselves are high quality, and any recipient should enjoy getting one in the mail. Get it.

Favorite Apps: 1Password

Being a nerd, I have more login credentials than I’d care to count, and I’m also aware of how important it is to have strong passwords. 1Password is the best password management solution I’ve come across.

The problem with passwords is one of quality versus quantity: you don’t want to use the same password for every website, but you also need to be able to remember all of your passwords so you don’t get locked out of your accounts. That’s where 1Password comes in.

1Password acts as a database for all of your login credentials. It generates very strong passwords and stores all of them for you, and it can even log you into your favorite sites automatically. The only password you need to remember is your Master Password. Once you input your Master Password, you can have access to all of your private data. Thus, you don’t need to remember your Gmail password, your Facebook password, your Twitter password, etc. The most secure password is the one you don’t know.

You may ask what good that is, since if someone knew your Master Password, they’d be able to access all of your information. But 1Password also supports pass phrases, which allows you to create a Master Password consisting of a random group of words, making it very difficult to hack.

We see people’s Facebook and Twitter accounts get hacked all the time. If you’re worried about the security of your online identities, 1Password is the professional solution. I use it on my Mac, iPhone, and iPad, and it’s one of my favorite apps. Once you try it — even if you don’t think you need it — you’ll feel much better knowing your login credentials are safe and secure.

Instapaper 4.0

As you might have learned in your internet travels today, Instapaper 4.0 has been released for the iPhone and the iPad, and it is tasty. Be sure to read Marco’s post about the whats and whys of the update.

If you don’t know what Instapaper is, then shame on you, and prepare to have your life altered for the better.

Instapaper is a read-it-later service created by Marco Arment. After getting a free account on Instapaper.com, you get access to the Read Later bookmarklet (i.e. button), which sits in your browser’s bookmark toolbar. Whenever you come across something you’d like to read, but don’t have time to do so at that moment, you click the Read Later button. The article gets sent straight to your Instapaper account, where you can read it at your leisure. It strips away everything but the text and any relevant pictures, which creates an ideal distraction-free reading environment.

This is huge. Even if you don’t understand what’s so great about what I just described, you owe it to yourself to give Instapaper a try. Instapaper is one of those things you didn’t know you needed until you actually start using it. Then, it becomes invaluable.

Why?

Because I always have something good to read no matter where I am. In line at the store. On the train to NYC. In bed before I go to sleep. Anywhere.

Instapaper is available as a website, an iPhone and iPad app, and it also supports Kindle subscriptions. In addition to the browser bookmarklet, many Twitter clients and RSS readers support Instapaper. You can even email articles to your account, so it’s easy to to fill Instapaper with things that you find intriguing.

It’s a refreshing respite from the breakneck pace of the internet. As Marco explains, Instapaper encourages you to become absorbed in a single piece of writing, rather than skimming through things as fast as you can just to clear your news feed. It allows you to get back to enjoying the act of reading.

About 90% of what I read comes from the internet. Fortunately/unfortunately, I don’t sit at my computer all day, so I often don’t have time to read the amazing things I come across. Instapaper is the perfect solution. It’s your “instant newspaper”, and it’s only filled with articles that interest you. As Merlin Mann wrote, Instapaper lets you decide what, when, and where to read. Its flexibility and ease-of-use remove all excuses for not reading.

If you like to read, you’ll love Instapaper. It’s as simple as that.

On a personal note, I’d like to say that Marco himself is someone you should know. He was the lead developer of Tumblr for four years, and now Instapaper is his full-time job. His creation has made thousands of people’s lives more enjoyable, and he’s an inspiration for anyone looking to make a living from their own creativity.

Instapaper fundamentally changed the way I browse the web. 4.0 is a fantastic update with new features and an improved interface. There’s no better time to start using this app. You should get a free account and/or buy it right now.

Thanks, Marco.

Paying for Good Software

J. Eddie Smith, IV on the cost of not buying good software:

Good software is virtually free, regardless of its purchase price, because the payback dwarfs the investment. If your time is worth something, you’d be rational to pay hundreds of dollars for applications you use every day.

This is why I don’t hesitate to pay the $4.99 to remove ads from Twitterrific. I use the app probably thirty times a day. Giving the developer five bucks not only gives me a better experience, it’s the best way for me to say thank you.

Relax, Apps.

Dave Caolo’s productivity tip of the day:

Turn off the “new email” notification sound. Nothing says “stop what you’re doing and look” like that damn little beep. It can take 15 minutes to get back on task following an interruption. Multiply 15 minutes by [X] number of beeps and you’ve baked a do-nothing soufflé.

Totally. I have very few notifications enabled on my Mac and mobile devices. Most of the time, being notified is unnecessary because I look at the app on a regular basis anyway. I don’t need an alert when someone mentions me on Twitter because I’ll see it eventually when I decide it’s time to check Twitter. I don’t use unread badges on my RSS reader for the same reason.

When apps demand my attention RIGHT NOW, they disrupt my productivity, which is counter to their intended purpose. By turning off notifications, I’m telling my apps, “Relax. I’ll get to you when I’m good and ready.”

A Trusted System

Federico Viticci on venturing beyond his most used apps:

iOS devices are now playing an important role in our lives, and we shouldn’t stop exploring all the ways to make them better with new apps, and different workflows. But I believe no one can blame us for choosing the trusted system when it’s time to work, and stop tinkering.

Agreed. The search for my preferred writing app shouldn’t prevent me from actually writing.

Apps I trust:

• Twitterrific
• Reeder
• Instapaper
• Omnifocus
• Notesy
• 1Password
• Instacast
• Dropbox
• Alfred

These apps are reliable to the point where I can use them effortlessly, without thinking. They actually help me get things done, rather than put things off. I follow the developers and know I can count on them for regular, thoughtful updates. I was also glad to pay for each of them, which both supports the developer and invests me in the app’s success. Paid apps also usually indicate quality. I’d rather pay $2.99 for an app that just works than waste time trying and discarding several free apps, especially if I plan on using the app everyday.

Once I find an app that fills a particular need well, I’m content. I’m not opposed to hearing about new Twitter apps or RSS readers, but my trusted apps have set the bar very high, and thus they’ve earned my loyalty.

Jotting Things Down in OmniFocus

I’ve been slowly wading into the OmniFocus pool, having bought the iPhone app a couple weeks ago after finishing David Allen’s Getting Things Done. The learning curve is significant, but reading GTD helps a lot, and I’m slowly starting to assimilate the iPhone app into my workflow.

The power and flexibility of OmniFocus allows me to be as strict or lenient with the official GTD methodology as I want. One of the things I’ve been trying to figure out is how I like to use the Inbox. OmniFocus is so robust that it initially took me almost a minute to figure out how to properly input an action. I’m getting better, but sometimes I just want to jot something down quickly and process it later. Fortunately, OmniFocus’s Inbox is perfect for that sort of thing.

J. Eddie Smith, IV puts it very nicely:

The OmniFocus inbox just seems like the best “don’t think about where to put it, just get it down” place.

If a non-actionable thought is truly worth saving, you can always move it to a better saving place later. There should be no rules around what you write to your inbox, only rules about what stays in OmniFocus.

His article is full of practical tips for using iOS’s quick entry and Inbox features. I was beginning to uncover a similar strategy myself, but Eddie sheds a whole lot of light on using OmniFocus to capture anything and everything. Love it.

Via The Brooks Review

Monolingual Frees Up Disk Space, Encourages Cultural Ignorance

Chances are you only use one language on your Mac. For me, that’s English, so having an exhaustive list of additional languages installed on my machine is unnecessary.

Fortunately, a little utility called Monolingual allows you to uninstall any and all languages you don’t need. The process couldn’t be simpler: once you fire up the app, just select the languages you don’t want, and click Remove. It actually takes longer than you’d think, but once the process completes, you’ll have regained many megabytes of disk space. I just used it on an old iBook G4 and reclaimed an impressive 1.5GB.

The other way to do this is to customize your initial OS X install and leave out the extra languages, but for those of us who forgot or don’t know how to do that, Monolingual is very handy.

Favorite Apps: Droplr

Droplr is a great app that makes it easy to upload and share files, links, images, etc. It’s a little icon that sits in your menu bar. Drag a file to it, wait a second or two, and a link to your file will be automatically copied to your clipboard. You can also post the link directly to Twitter if you so choose.

One caveat I had with the app was embedding images. I do a fair amount of message boarding, so it was annoying to have to upload the image, follow the link, and right-click/copy the image URL before posting it online. Not very simple.

I googled the issue, and found this solution on Droplr’s support forum. The original poster had the same issue as I did, and as it turns out, right-clicking and copying the image URL causes the image to expire when embedded anyway.

Fortunately, the actual solution is infinitely simpler: just add a “+” to the Droplr URL. Awesome, easy, and works like a charm.

If this website had sponsors, I’d want Droplr to be one. Check it out, and watch the 45 second video.