Finding balance in a digital world – it’s complicated!

In April, I attended the ClickZ conference in NYC. The conference centered on the topics of paid, earned, owned, shared and integrated media. Keynote Randi Zuckerberg shared her message of the Dot Complicated world in which we work, live and innovate in our daily lives. She even has a children’s book out called “Dot,” soon to be turned into a cartoon by the Jim Henson Company. She challenged us to find ways to have technology in our lives while still finding time to shut down, be polite and balance.

But bedtime without my Kindle?

How can we find balance and turn off those devices as digital innovators and still keep our jobs in this industry? It’s no secret that to be digital means continually learning. Skills, trends, innovation and relevancy are ALL critical to our customers, our competition and us. But how in the HECK can you get any sleep? I challenged myself to think of a few things I could not live without, and how I could get these things done better and in less time, so that I have more time to enjoy life. Here’s what I came up with.

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Use news aggregators.
These tools collect your custom-selected news content in one spot, so you can breeze through the articles and get up to speed quickly. You can create categories with search terms like “digital tools,” “thinkers” and “tech business,” and the aggregator will feed you recommendations. Or, if you know what news you like, simply add a URL or RSS feed. Be sure to remind yourself to review the feeds each day on your personal device. A few favorites I would recommend include:

www.Feedly.com
www.pulse.me
www.flipboard.com

If you are a true multi-screener, you may need to use them in combination.

pic 2Manage your social channels with ease.  
If you suffer from #FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and you don’t want to end up with a case of #SMAD (Social Media Anxiety Disorder) you definitely need to find a solution! With the Buffer app, I read all my articles in my news aggregators, and then easily share them out across social channels. It even has some performance data about my personal audience engagement.

To maintain your digital knowledge with the influx of information out there can be a challenge. But it’s important to stay aware of innovative digital insight that you can share with customers. Maybe one of these tools can help you!

What other tools do you use to keep your social sanity?

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