I tend to read my news online these days, rather than buying a paper or watching TV news. And there are lots of different sources that I can go to to look for articles. What I used to do was read BBC News to get the basics, then do an internet search for anything I was particularly interested in to find out more.
But recently, I decided to try out Google News instead. It works really well on both a phone and a tablet, and you can get it for iPhones and iPads as well as Android devices. It’s a sort of short-cut to what I used to do by hand before.
The app has two main screens: “For you” is just a load of articles that Google thinks you might be interested in (I tend to skip that one), and “Headlines”. This is the screen I use most – it shows you each of the main stories of the day, with a selection of articles on each story from a whole load of different news sites. You can’t always read the full article without a paid subscription (e.g. if it’s from The Telegraph or The Times), but even with those you can see the headline and first few lines of the article.
Having lots of different takes on the same story can be really helpful (that’s why I’ve always done an internet search rather than just reading the BBC), and this app makes doing that really easy. So if you like to read news from various sources, why not give this a try? It’s free.
If you have an Android phone or tablet, you might already have the app – try looking in a folder of Google apps for it. If you don’t have it already, you can download it for free from the Google Play Store, or the App Store on an iPhone or iPad. Just search your store for “Google News”.
Our new books are finished and with the printers as we speak!
After a busy few days last week, we’ve finished our brand new edition of “Facebook One Step at a Time” and its partner book “Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, Instagram.. and the rest”. They’re both off at the printers to be printed and bound.
Which gives me time to tell you a bit more about them.
Last week, I talked about the various things you can use Facebook for – everything from sharing your holiday snaps to buying a fridge. And Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with all your friends and family at once. But if you want to share something more personal, send a quick message or have a chat with someone, there are better ways to do it. And that’s where our second book comes in…
…you’ll be able to read all about it tomorrow morning – Tuesday the 5th at 10am UK time. I’ll have all the information about both the books ready then, and if you like you can order your free-trial copies.
As ever, the books explain how to use Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, etc… nice and simply, in plain English. And they’re suitable whether you’ve never even set up a Facebook account or have already been using these apps for years but sometimes find them frustrating or think you could get more out of them.
Tomorrow I’ll tell you more about what’s in the books, who they’re suitable for and why you should even care! It’s not quite finished yet, but I’ll have that information ready for you – I promise!
So not too many biscuits for me just yet!