How To Keep Up To Date With Travel Hacking News
Let’s face it. This little hobby of ours can be a rabbit hole. I can’t remember how many times I searched something like “Aeroplan Redemption Sweet Spots” or something along that vein only to realize 6 hours later that I’m now watching a video about Etihad’s First Class Cabin, my dinner is ice cold and my family has long gone to sleep.
[youtube id=”XUmZfifHzBI” width=”600" height=”350" autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””]I obviously can’t do that all the time so there are a few tools I employ in order to keep on top of Travel Hacking news without too much effort. My favorite tool for this purpose is Feedly.
What is Feedly?
Feedly is a news aggregator that spans multiple browsers and mobile devices.
So what does that mean?
Well, every blog or news source out on the web broadcasts their feed using something called RSS — Really Simple Syndication. Think of the old timely TV shows that had news come over the wire … same idea.
What Feedly does is take all those RSS feeds from the sources you care about and adds them to your personalized feed. This allows you to get news and updates when you want. It’s like podcasting for news.
For those that are still struggling to grasp the concept, imaging a paperboy delivering news articles to you based on what you tell him you like. Maybe you like articles from the Wall Street Journal or Today’s Parent. Well, Feedly only delivers those articles to you so you can ignore the noise.
I use Feedly exclusively for Travel Hacking .. and Oilers news :)
Feedly Articles
When you add Feedly articles, the headline of the story as well as a short excerpt is displayed so you can quickly see if there is something that might peak your interest. If it does, simply click on the article to read it.
Some feeds will show the full article (like PointsNerd) and others require you to click on the link contained inside the article (like A View From the Wing) in order to read the entire article. This option is set by the blog or news source so there’s nothing you can do to change it.
How To Use Feedly
Rather than walk you through the step by step, I will provide you with a YouTube video explaining it in depth. The concept is very simple and it’s very easy to use in my opinion.
[youtube id=”7o2Kkn_GlbI” width=”600" height=”350" autoplay=”no” api_params=”” class=””]
Feeds to Add
If you are trying to quickly get up to speed on Canadian Travel Hacking, I would recommend the following blogs:
- PointsHogger — http://pointshogger.boardingarea.com/
- Canadian Travel Hacking — http://www.canadiantravelhacking.com/
