I wanted to write about some of the apps that I use on a daily basis. As the internet has become a daily part of our existence, it’s common to run into content, stories, etc. that resonates with you.

Pocket is Free App That I Use Daily

Pocket is that safe harbor to keep, clip, archive, store, and share online reading. It is a “read it later” app which allows you to digitally “clip” articles and revisit them later. If you’re a busy social worker like me that can catch a quick glimpse of social media during a brea, then this app is for you! As far as I know, Pocket does not work on any type of payment model. The experience in using this service is what you would expect from paying a premium – the functionality, apps, and clipping are all very well executed – all for no cost to the consumer.

Social Work Tech Approved

When I am at work, sometimes I will take a quick break and check out a social media venue; sometimes a headline will catch my attention. Because I can’t read it now, I save the article in Pocket for later Pocket has done a darn good job in making themselves available across different other content consumption venues that I frequent. A few of those sites include Feedly, Tumblr, and any website on my two favorite browsers: Safari (iOS) and Google Chrome. Pocket also please nice in exporting content, specifically posting articles onto Twitter, Facebook, or sending it via email to a colleague, or to my Evernote for later. What I really like about the Pocket is that signing up and getting started is a breeze.

Setting It Up on Various Apps

As I previously mentioned, there are several apps that play nice with Pocket. Here are a few ways in which I manage my content consumption on the web.

• Browser: Pocket makes it easy to set up a bookmark on your browser-of-choice to clip articles at the press of a button. If you use Google Chrome, they even have an extension that is easy-peasy.
• Feedly: This is an app that I used to manage my RSS reader since Google Reader was killed off. Using my username and password, I can set up pocket so that at the press of a few buttons, I conceive an article for later.
• Tumblr: I’m a huge fan of this website (and you can follow me here). Tumblr has integrated a read-it-later option, and Pocket is one of them. Again, using your username and password, you can set it up easily on the official app for iOS.
• Twitter apps (specifically, Tweetbot): in the settings of your favorite Twitter application, see if they have a “Read It Later” option. Tweetbot is a favorite app of mine and whenever I see an article I might want to read later, I can hold down on a link and save it for later via Pocket. If I’m in the middle of reading the article, in the apps Internet browser, I can save it to my pocket account into taps.

Accessing Your Articles, Later

Pocket provides a few venues in which you can access your articles by using your username and password.

• Web Browser: When you get to the pocket website, you can login and access all your articles. Simple as that excavation point
• Apps: Pocket provides various different apps for different mobile venues that are aesthetically pleasing, functional, and simple. I use the iOS version on my iPhone and iPad, and it is really easy to read, tag, and share articles from there. The OSX version is also solid and well-built.

Doing Stuff With Your Articles

You can do a variety things on the app with the articles which includes:

• Reading Your Content: The whole reason for the app.
• Manage Your Content: You can use the app to manage all of the articles that you have saved. Furthermore, you can use the app to archive, delete, and tag your articles within Pocket. Peace changes the sync across all venues in which you access the app (e.g. Web browser, mobile apps, etc.)
• Archive To Evernote: An article needs to be saved, you can easily save it to Evernote with tags, your comments, and the original source URL.
• Share to Social Media: You can give permission to Pocket to share articles of your choosing to your Twitter feed, Facebook wall, ([ ] Check to see if there are any other venues.)

For Social Workers

Pocket is a great tool for social workers to you. Whether you are a casual content consumer, student, or researcher, the service comes in handy. The bottom line is that we can read articles later when it makes more sense to read, process, and sort through reading. Often times we have to manage our precious time to ensure that we are doing quality work, achieving our self-care, and getting enough rest to do it all over again the next day. The time that I used to do my content consumption, including casual reading, is valuable to me. I can go to the app and sort through articles but I’ve been meaning to get to later. Once I am situated with reading my articles, if something is particularly moving, I can save it to my Evernote under my “Good Reads” folder. If it is something that I can use in a therapy session with a client, I file that appropriately, too.

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More shots of Pocket in Action!

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