Psychedelhic Times

Newsletters

I’m a big fan of email newsletters. I think they’re a great way to summarize a whole lot of useful articles from the web and read (some of) them later. I use my inbox as a to-do list, archiving all emails that don’t need my attention (kinda GTD-ish), and I process newsletters in my spare time and read them in one go, after which they go into the archives. Most of the newsletters I read are weekly, so the “inbox-overload” is totally manageable.

I’m sharing the list of newsletters I read and recommend. I’d go so far to say you can unfollow or unsubscribe a lot of blogs and opt in for the newsletter instead; real-time is mostly overrated.

Think Vitamin: Web design and development
Smashing Magazine: Also web design and development
Python Weekly: Python (the programming language, not the snake with a great appetite)
Sprouter Weekly: Founder stories, tech and entrepreneurship
Lifehacker: Great way to look at the best stories of the day without getting bogged down by the actual number of stories being published.
Photojojo: Photography tips, gear, gifts and DIY projects.
Startup Digest Reading List: Startup Digest has a bunch of newsletters, from a weekly reading list for every weekend, to topics of interest like mobile and city-based startup events. Take your pick.
hackernewsletter: (via Kale in comments) Stories from Hacker News (also see Hacker Monthly below)

Theses are some other newsletters you might want to check out; I find them inconsistent in their interestingness but you should decide for yourself.

Hiten’s Newsletter: Entrepreneurship wisdom overdose.
Om Says: Essays on entrepreneurship and technology. He shares a list of weekend reads which I find better than his own essays.
A Lesser Photographer: By CJ Chilvers, this one is about shifting focus away from photography gear and developing the “eye”.
HTML5 Weekly: HTML5, CSS3 and Javascript. I might unsubscribe from this, because ThinkVitamin and Smashing Magazine already cover a lot of ground.

Special mentions

Hacker Monthly - not really a newsletter but an excellent way to read the best of Hacker News every month.
Brain Pickings - I subscribed to this a few minutes ago. I’m yet to receive my first mail but their posts are awesome.
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency - Awesome humour. Check out their SOPA page for a sample. They have a monthly newsletter but I tend to read it on the iPad app.

Help me find more?

I’d love recommendations for photography (the art, not the gear) and rock music (specially the indie scene). I understand podcasts are more suitable for the latter, but I prefer newsletters (clearly!). If you have something to share, please leave a comment below.

P.S. Maybe I should start a newsletter featuring a newsletter every week!

CC Photo by Éole on Flickr