As I was reading my email last night everything became clear just as Jason Calacanis laid out in his post the day before titled “Knowing when, and how, to pivot (or, why didn’t news apps work?)”.  It is a really good article and I would suggest checking it out.

Like many people, I have a couple different news apps on my phone, maybe you don’t and, in that case, lucky you.  Why so many you ask?  I use them strong for a couple of months and then I stop using them on a daily basis as I go back to where I always go to look for things social Media.  Yes, just as the article said, “News apps failed because social networks succeeded”, which couldn’t be truer.  I check Twitter first to see what is going on and read/consume most of my news/articles there.  However, it is not to say I am not open to finding a better way to consume news because as I mentioned I have a couple of news apps on my phone but that is where they are, on my phone and I don’t do everything on my phone.  However… My email is with me on my phone, tablet, and laptop and it is that running to-do list of things that are waiting for me to look at anytime/anywhere.  Now maybe my habit of email has gone down over the years, as I don’t check it every 5 min, but I would say it still ranks pretty high on the usage ratio.

That is where these Newsletters are killing it these days because you are already in your email and you don’t have to open yet another app.  Here are the top four newsletters I get every day that I always seem to keep opening:

  • Launch Ticker - This was the first one I signed up for a little less than a year ago because I got a free one year trial and has definitely been worth it.  They send 2 emails per day (morning/afternoon), with a handful of short summaries of news stories with links to the original.  Most of the topics/articles they send out are around breaking tech news and if you aren't online all day this does a great job of recapping what is happening in tech news.
  • NextDraft - I have had this subscription the longest and I don't see it changing anytime soon.  Dave Pell does a great job summarizing, adding a catchy title, and adding in his own thoughts for what he finds as the top 10 news items of the day.  Also, I really enjoy that number 10 is normally something funny or as he calls it the bottom of the news.
  • Mattermark Daily - If you are a technology, startup, or investing fan this is one to check out.  Not to mention they have been doing a lot more Editorials lately that have really knocked it out of the park from a thought/research standpoint (here is the latest one titled "Surviving Whatever Comes Next" by Danielle Morrill. Not to mention Mattermark the company is doing some pretty cool things on top of this daily newsletter.
  • Inside Daily Brief (side note you can win an Amazon Echo if you sign) - Now this one is super new for me but I have been subscribed since they started.  I will say it has been changing a lot since it started as it is trying to get formatting, content type, and other things ironed out.  However, one thing is for sure they have some great summaries of top news stories of the day.  Not sure if the trend will continue but earlier on Jason Calacanis was sending out a shared Google Doc to twitter for everyone to come help make suggestions before the next Daily Brief was published.  I can't wait to see how this one continues to evolve and wish the team the best.
Each of them provides something different which is why for me I can see them lasting in my routine for a while.

Final side note on News apps, I installed NextDraft app on my phone but never really use it because the email is so perfect for my routine as it is in a place I already look and can access it anywhere.

What are your thoughts on News Apps and do you think one will really stick around?  If you are a frequent user of one let me know what your favorite one is as I am always game to try new apps.