Today I’m going to talk about how I consume digital/print content to stay up to date on what’s happening, learn more about the world, and enjoy some much-needed R&R (yes, this includes my Netflix binging).
Last week, a private equity fund, Apollo Global Management, purchased the digital media assets from Verizon for $5B. The deal included brands like TechCrunch / Yahoo Finance and allowed Verizon to finally sell off its media wing (something they have been pursuing for a while now). Much of the digital media landscape has struggled to compete with Google / Facebook for ad revenue, so this is a big bet by Apollo at a time when the industry is facing increased scrutiny for their targeted ad practices.
This all got me thinking…how, where, and when do I consume digital content. As someone that writes a blog, this is pretty top of mind.
The Sparknotes version
I separate my content consumption into two categories – recurring and one-off. Below is both the content I consume in those categories along with approximately how long I spend on it:
Recurring media consumption
- Daily market publication (<5 mins / day)
- Industry RSS feed (~5 mins / day)
- Weekly long form magazine (~30 mins / week)
- Weekly blog posts / newsletters from select writers (~45 mins / week)
- Social media (According to my phone ~1 hour / day …slightly embarrassing)
- Nightly Netflix / Hulu (~20 mins during dinner, ~20 mins before bed)
One-off media consumption
- Fictional books (variable)
- Industry focused books (variable)
- Podcasts (variable)
Week in the life
Let’s walk through one of my weeks to see how I build in my digital media consumption:
First thing in the morning
I start off my morning waking up later than I would like and spend 5 mins reading the Morning Brew to quickly get up to speed on the goings on of the prior day.
If I have managed to start my morning routine early enough, I’ll either play tennis (fortunately live very close to a court) or get in a quick workout. Full transparency, as happens many mornings, I woke up this morning and decided neither was happening and turned my alarm off. Sometimes you have to live life on the edge.
Whenever I start a new consulting case / am about to enter a new industry, I will set up an industry focused email alert (an RSS feed) that will send me links to relevant articles every day. I usually take a scan through this when I check my email in the morning to see if there are any interesting developments that I should read about later or have on my radar. I currently have several set up including one from PE Hub that keeps me up to date on Private Equity deal activity.
Afternoon
During a work break I will usually look through recent articles in the Economist (my favorite magazine) and read an article that piques my interest. I follow their Instagram page, which will usually highlight interesting articles as they come out so I don’t have to go to their website.
At various other times during the day I will scroll through social media (really need to kick this habit). According to my phone, my most common sources here are:
- Instagram – 99% memes for a quick laugh
- LinkedIn – Mostly time reading articles from people that I follow
- Facebook – Almost exclusively sports videos. I have recently gotten interested in a Tennis Channel called Essential Tennis that puts out some interesting videos
- Fishbowl – Fascinating source of industry intel for a consultant
Evening
I usually try and unplug for a bit around dinner time and get some exercise in (go for a walk / workout if I haven’t already). Then I’ll eat dinner and watch an episode of TV (currently on a Modern Family binge).
At some point later in the evening, I will also try and check out some of my favorite blogs if I know they will be publishing content that day. For example, Financial Samurai publishes content M/W/F. I have learned an incredible amount from other writers (Mr. Money Mustache, Tim Ferriss, etc.) and reading their content is usually a great way to get inspiration to continue writing myself.
I have also signed up for a few weekly newsletters from people that I follow on what they are paying attention to that week. There is so much content out there that it’s often helpful to get directed to specific content by credible people. I will sometimes find that the content I decide to write about finds its way into the newsletter of someone I follow, which helps reaffirm that I am paying attention to the right things.
This may sound like a lot, however, excluding social media / Netflix this only takes ~20 mins / day on average. When you compare that to the ~1.5 hours per day I apparently spend on social media / TV, it’s a drop in the bucket and is 1000x more valuable.
One-off sources of content
I will level with you all, I have the attention span of a 10-year old, so I much prefer articles to books (for non-fiction purposes). I also struggle with podcasts, both because I am not an auditory learner and because I feel like I could get through the content a lot faster if it was written.
That being said, I know this is a result of a lifetime of being bombarded with quick hits of content so I am trying to focus on more long-form content.
Both books and podcasts are a great source of information and I have started to dedicate a good bit of time reading them.
Books
I love reading fiction. Somehow my attention span is never an issue here. I think I would take a good fictional book over TV any day. I finally convinced myself to buy a Kindle and it’s been great for reading. I have, however, also used it for focused learning. While articles can teach you a lot, immersing yourself in a full book can usually get you to retain that learning a lot better.
I will admit, however, that I tend not to finish non-fiction books. I feel like you get the gist after a portion of the book and forcing myself to finish the book will likely result in me never reading.
My recent reading list has included a book on poker math, my favorite personal finance book (Rich Dad Poor Dad), and a book on the career of Stephen Schwarzman (the CEO of Blackstone) that I just started.
Podcasts
As I mentioned I have never been a big podcast listener. I have a few podcasts I check out during football season, but otherwise my podcast listening is primarily one-off. That being said they are a fantastic way to productively do other things (work out, get groceries, etc.). I recently started listening to Tim Ferriss’s podcast on a recommendation from a friend and it has been great. He interviews experts in various fields from investing to writing and deconstructs what has made them great at what they do. There are also plenty of reading recommendations throughout the podcast for continued learning.
Pick your content carefully
As I reflect on the sources of my media consumption, I am starting to realize why Facebook and Google have such a strong hold on digital ad revenue. Despite having so many specific sources that I go to for content, I still spend an extraordinary amount of time on social media and find most of my sources of info through Google. That being said, as I continue to develop my curated content list over time…and decrease my time on social media, I am hoping this will change.
As you think through developing your go-to sources for content, just remember to be very picky. They will shape your opinion on a wide variety of topics, so make sure you are taking in content from sources you trust and that have credibility on a subject.
What are your digital content staples?
RWM
