Now that I've been using Paper.li for a week to aggregate a daily newspaper-like synopsis of the news of of my Social Media Favorites Twitter list, I'm seeing far more value to the service than at first glance.
What has surprised me most is how much I look forward to reading the paper. I'll admit that the tool seemed a bit self-promotional at first, but the advantages of promoting a Twitter list (as opposed to my own feed) are multifaceted. I look forward to sitting down with a nice, cold can of Diet Dr Pepper and snuggling up with my MacBook to read the best articles my list has Tweeted.
My three favorite uses for the Social Media Favorites Twitter list Daily:
- Purely selfish--read it like a newspaper: it's a great way to catch up on the hot Twitter news I missed because I was actually working and focused during the day. And because it's not based on Twitter's trending topics but instead on the 199 friends, colleagues and frenemies I have deemed my own social media gurus, the content is based on topics and opinions that are guaranteed to be of interest to me. Mine comes out mid-afternoon, and it's perfect for browsing during my 3:00 Diet-Dr-Pepper-and-fruit break.
- Avoid filter failure: leaving Twitter up all day can be dizzying. Even checking in several times a day can split focus. And you STILL might miss the good stuff, because your buddy Lee Hopkins in Australia posts all his best goodies when you're in bed. Or in that three-hour meeting. Paper.li is proving to be a good filter in terms of content: the posts are the most relevant, selected from the people I follow and engage with most often. And instead of a stream, it's organized like a newspaper, with three columns separated visually by topic.
- Promote your friends, colleagues and frenemies: A Paper.li feature is worth far more than a simple reTweet for anyone featured in it. For one thing, the content snippet is much longer, and a photo might even be included. For another, the friend's photo and Twitter ID appear in the byline.
However, when browsing the paper (can we call it a "daily newspaper"?), mousing over the Tweeter's photo brings up the original Tweet. So, double exposure for the friends on your list.
For a third, the automatic Tweet that Paper.li sends out when the daily is published can put the authors in very good company. For example, yesterday's daily of @heidimiller's Social Media Favorites features @jayrosen_nyu, @chrispirillo and @leehopkins. Jay Rosen writes primarily about the future of news and the effect of the changing media landscape on journalism as an industry; Chris Pirillo writes about geeky tech gadgets; and Lee Hopkins writes about social media and corporate communications. If these three weren't following each other before, having bylines next to each other on Paper.li might have given them that excuse to do so.
And here's another idea: Seattle Geek Week is coming up. I've created the #SeattleGW Daily, a daily paper following the hashtag #SeattleGW, to see what I miss while I'm at work during the day. There's not much to report now, but it should flood when BarCamp Seattle kicks off Geek Week tonight. Should be interesting!
Have you tried Paper.li? Or another similar service? How do you use it?
