Pocket

On this week’s IRL: Online Life is Real Life podcast, Manoush Zomorodi dives into a topic near and dear to our hearts: how our reading habits are evolving in the internet age.

There’s no arguing that we’re awash in more content than ever before. And in many ways, that’s an incredibly exciting moment to experience. We have the whole world at our fingertips, waiting to be consumed and explored.

“There’s never been a time before where there are so many amazing, interesting, stories, ideas, and perspectives out there. And the reality is there is more to consume than we probably have the time for.”
Pocket CEO Nate Weiner, IRL Episode 3

But just how well are we processing and engaging with the wealth of content available to us each day? Life on screens tends to reward shallow, hyperactive reading habits, rather than slow and deep ones. The days of sitting down to read a newspaper or book for an extended period of time are becoming rarer. Instead we spend our days scrolling through feeds, opening dozens of tabs that we never seem to get back to, and skimming from one headline to the next. Many of us may feel as though we’re reading in some form all day long, but we’re often devoting less time to focusing, absorbing, and reflecting on what’s in front of us.

As Nate tells Manoush, that’s why we’re so committed to making Pocket the place where you can hold onto the ideas, inspiration, and knowledge that are important to you — and then come back to them later, free from the distractions of the noisy web. We believe that’s what makes Pocket such a welcomed part of our users’ lives — it helps you focus on the things that fascinate you and delivers the satisfaction that deep engagement and focused reading can bring.

“It is so easy to open up Twitter or Facebook or Reddit on my phone, but I never feel good about it after I leave. I never feel fulfilled. But when I actually go, sit down and read something in Pocket, every single time I’m like ‘Man, I need to do that more,’ because you feel like you’ve learned something, or actually used time valuably.”
Pocket CEO Nate Weiner, IRL Episode 3

At Pocket, we want to help you bring back the joy of reading. It’s a place where you save and read the things that are important to you. It’s built by you — for you. Your Pocket is the place where you go to learn and grow, laugh and be inspired, all without distraction. It’s the space for you to capture your favorite content from across the web and come back to it when you’re ready. It’s the feed that helps you feel fulfilled.

Get the new and improved Pocket today on whatever device you have and rediscover the joy of reading.

Want More?

Join Manoush Zomorodi as she explores how the internet has changed reading — and how we’re all changing alongside it — in Mozilla’s IRL podcast.

Listen In

It’s the season of giving and getting, which means you may be unboxing a shiny new device that pairs perfectly with Pocket.

We’ve worked hard to make sure that your Pocket is easy to set up and easy to have with you wherever you are. No matter what new tech you’re unwrapping, here are some quick and simple ways to get reading, listening and enjoying the web with Pocket.

Download the app

When you boot up your new device, your first step is to download the Pocket app. Pocket is available for free on Mac, iOS, Android, Kobo, Fire TV and as an Alexa skill, so you can download it wherever you get apps for your device. It comes pre-installed with Firefox. If you’re lucky enough to be a Firefox user, you’ll find the Pocket icon in the search bar. Simply click on the pocket icon in the address bar, sign in and it’s ready to go. This functionality is also available as a browser extension for Chrome, to save stuff you want to keep while on the web. Once you’ve installed the app, extension or Alexa skill, it’s easy to get connected to your Pocket account. If you’re an existing Pocket user, simply log into your Pocket account. All your saved pocket items will be there waiting for you.

Learn a new skill

With Pocket for Amazon Alexa you can listen to articles that you’ve recently saved to Pocket on your Echo and other devices that have Alexa built-in. To activate the Alexa skill, visit the Pocket skill page for Alexa to enable it. Then you’ll be saying “Alexa, tell Pocket to get articles.” before you know it. You can listen to your saved articles and stories in the kitchen or while you’re wrapping presents.

Discover something new

New to Pocket? You’re in for a treat. This is the time for you to sign up for an account and start enjoying the best the web has to offer. Pocket is a space just for you, so when you see an article or video that catches your eye, or read something you know you want to dive back into, save those items and keep them with you, wherever you go. Sign up for Pocket Hits and have exceptional stories delivered to your inbox.

Whatever tech you’re unwrapping this holiday season, adding Pocket can be the best way for you to collect and enjoy articles, videos and more.

There’s no way around it. The holidays are hectic. No matter what you’re celebrating or who you are celebrating with, the end of the year is a lot. Here at Pocket, we’d like to share with you some of the ways Pocket can help you with that little bit of extra this holiday. Whether it’s extra knowledge, extra time, extra delays or extra inspiration, we can help.

1. Keep all your holiday ideas in Pocket

There are so many wonderful ways to share the holidays. The internet has made it possible for people everywhere share their creative ways to give, decorate, dine and delight. Which is amazing, but it’s also a lot to keep track of. Pocket can be a home to save and revisit the content you discover around decorating, gift giving, cooking, and hosting.

See some positively delectable sugar cookies on a cooking blog? Save the recipe to Pocket and you can easily pull it up on your phone when you’re in the store trying to remember if you wanted refined or granulated sugar. Build your gift list by saving gift guides from your favorite websites and publications. Get into the holiday spirit by holding on to some of the stories that remind us about the best of humanity and why we celebrate all these holidays in the first place.

2. Use the Pocket listen feature when holiday prep has you busy

It seems like the the only gift we can’t give or get is time. The frenzy of the season can often cut into the things that help us feel calm and centered. Pocket’s listen feature can also help keep you on top of your reading goals even when your hands are busy. While you’re putting up decorations, wrapping gifts or icing your hundredth cookie, listen lets you enjoy the articles and stories you have saved. Or you can enable Pocket’s Alexa skill and ask Alexa to read your saved articles aloud while you’re busy around the house.

3. Turn travel time into quality time

The holidays are full of waiting. Sometimes we’re waiting while we’re in an airport. Sometimes we’re waiting to get back outside if a blizzard rolls in. Sometimes we’re waiting in line to buy gifts or food for a family feast. Catching up on stories in Pocket can help make that wait a better use of your time. If your mother-in-law has terrible wifi or you’re on a plane with no connectivity just sync your Pocket before you enter a dead zone and you’ll have access to all your stories and articles. Pocket can turn that long layover or unexpected delay into an enjoyable experience with our offline reading feature.

4. Let recommendations fuel your holiday conversations

This time of year we do a lot of talking. Whether at holiday parties, family gatherings, volunteering in the community or at school concerts, it’s good to have interesting things to discuss. You can use the content you discover in Pocket to up your holiday party conversation game. We’ve even collected some must reads from this past year to help get you started. If you don’t subscribe to Pocket Hits, it’s our weekly newsletter of exceptional content surface by Pocket’s community. Check out the Firefox new tab for even more great content recommendations.

If you’re considering spending your time more intentionally in 2019, spending less time scrolling and more time fueling your mind, Pocket is a great companion to help you focus on the things that matter to you.

We wish you all the best this holiday season!
From Team Pocket

It’s been an exciting year here at Pocket, and we want to say thank you for continuing on this journey with us. There is so much incredible content on the web today—articles that inform and inspire us, stories that move and motivate us, and videos that make us cry with laughter and push us to be better. And we know there’s so much you want to read, soak up, and learn. We’re honored and grateful that you’ve made Pocket your place to spend time with all of the things that matter to you.

At the end of each year, we pull together the “best” stories of the year—the items that people are Pocketing, reading, sharing, and hanging on to for the future. This list represents the most-read and most-watched of the 283 million unique items that people saved in Pocket this year. As you’ll see, Pocket users had an eye for sharp writing, great storytelling, and powerful journalism in 2018. We think you’ll love this collection of stories to save and read in Pocket.

And in case you missed anything this year, keep reading below for new product highlights—and for a way to show your Pocket-love.

The Pocket team has been busy this year, and it feels great to know we’ve improved something that many of you tell us is an essential part of your life. In case you missed it…

• We launched a new version of Pocket with an updated look and feel, an uncluttered reading experience, and an enhanced dark mode for nighttime reading. And best of all, you can listen to all of your saved articles with a human-sounding voice. Try listening while you do your holiday prep and put your ears to work while the rest of you is busy.
• Pocket now has an Alexa skill. Get it started and ask Alexa to read your Pocket articles while you’re cooking or doing chores around the house.
• We also added our two most-requested features earlier this year—highlighting and estimated reading times.
• Are you a Slack user? Add Pocket to your Slack workspace, then capture all the great content being shared by your colleagues.
• Do you have an Amazon Fire TV device? If you download the Firefox for Fire TV app, you can watch Pocket-recommended videos from places like YouTube and Vimeo.
• Pocket also powers the article recommendations in the Firefox browser’s new tab. If you’re not a Firefox user yet, start 2019 right with more privacy, speed, and incredible Pocket content recommendations.

So what’s coming next year? Continued investment in the things that power you, fuel you, and feed your mind. Pocket will surface and share even more content that’s worth your time and attention. And we will continue to update the Pocket app so you’ll always have an exceptional reading and listening experience across your devices.

Please tell a friend about Pocket in 2019. Or tell the world right now by tweeting @Pocket and tell us the role Pocket plays in your life.

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to you and yours from all of us!

– Team Pocket

Top Reads
Save these great stories—and read, watch, or listen to them in Pocket!

How to Pick a Career (That Actually Fits You)
Tim Urban, Wait But Why

The Last Conversation You’ll Ever Need to Have about Eating Right
Mark Bittman and David L. Katz, Grub Street

Beyond the Bitcoin Bubble
Steven Johnson, New York Times

Great Listens
Save these stories and listen to them in Pocket.

A Kingdom from Dust
Mark Arax, California Sunday

It’s Story Time
Joel Embiid, Players Tribune

The Most Adventurous Eater in America
Dana Goodyear, The New Yorker

Top Videos

Jordan Peterson Debate on the Gender Pay Gap, Campus Protests, and Postmodernism
Channel 4 News

This is America (Official Video)
Childish Gambino

Paul McCartney Carpool Karaoke
The Late Late Show with James Corden

The spookiest day of the year is just around the corner, when little witches and ghouls stalk the streets and adults willingly scare themselves witless. In honor of this haunted holiday, we’ve pulled together three great reads about Halloween’s surprisingly romantic history, the origins of your favorite monsters, and the joy at the heart of Dia de Los Muertos. These stories may not chill you to the bone, but they are sure to get you in the spirit.

The Origins of 25 Monsters, Ghosts, and Spooky Things
Sonya Vatomsky, Mental Floss

Ever wonder why we carve jack-o-lanterns or go trick-or-treating? Or where the legend of the headless horseman or a witch’s flying broomstick come from? The story behind these and other ghoulish customs and creatures might surprise you.

Boo? Halloween Used to Be About Finding True Love
Niraj Chokshi, The New York Times

Halloween wasn’t always so scary. A century ago, the holiday was less about fright—and more about flirtation.

Top 10 Things to Know About Día de los Muertos
Logan Ward, National Geographic

Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween. While Halloween is a dark night of terror and mischief, Day of the Dead festivities unfold over two days in an explosion of color and life-affirming joy.

Now that you’ve read up on your ghosts and goblins, tell us: What’s your favorite part of Halloween? Tweet us @Pocket and share your favorite Halloween stories.