Pocket

A gossamer veil surrounds a blue and green oasis in space. It’s the only place we know of that supports life in this universe—and it’s our home. In honor of Earth Day, we wanted to share a collection of stories, photos, and videos that reflect Earth’s beauty and also the unexpected consequences of our human footprint. And we’ll even leave you with inspiration and hope from the bees, who may just have it right.

We’re also excited to share a special collection of climate change articles curated by Rolling Stone journalist and Pocket user Jeff Goodell, inspired by his recent trip to Antarctica. It’s an important look at the state of the planet today and what we can do to turn things around. For a deeper dive, pick up a copy of his book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World.

Scott Kelly Spent a Year Taking Photos in Space. They’re Beautiful.
Photographs by Scott Kelly, The New York Times

In orbit aboard the International Space Station, astronaut Scott Kelly wasn’t just gathering data for NASA’s Twins Study. He also captured incredible images of Earth from the cupola of the space station—and in the process, he’s given us perspective on our own home and its beauty.

It’s not uncommon for astronauts to return from space with a transformed perspective on their home. See how seven other astronauts describe this experience courtesy of National Geographic.

Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change
Nathaniel Rich, Photographs and Videos by George Steinmetz, The New York Times Magazine

This feature explores the 10-year period from 1979 to 1989—the decade when humankind first came to a broad understanding of the causes and dangers of climate change. This article tracks the efforts of a small group of American scientists, activists, and politicians who raise the alarm and try to stave off catastrophe. It may come as a revelation to many just how thoroughly they grasped the problem and how close they came to solving it. Aerial photographs and videos help to tell the story.

How Climate Change Is Fuelling the U.S. Border Crisis
Jonathan Blitzer, Photography by Mauricio Lima, The New Yorker

In the western highlands of Guatemala, the question is no longer whether someone will leave but when. Explore how the changing climate patterns in Guatemala are affecting families and their ability to survive. Then pull back to understand the ripple effect across agriculture, society, economic markets, and ultimately the mass migration of people who are leaving the most vulnerable parts of this country.

Want to dig deeper? This short National Geographic video reveals how climate research offers coffee farmers hope for their crops. Guatemala’s third-largest export is coffee, which thrives in a narrow climate on the country’s mountainous slopes.

Palm Oil Was Supposed to Help Save the Planet. Instead It Unleashed a Catastrophe
Abrahm Lustgarten, The New York Times

A decade ago, the U.S. mandated the use of vegetable oil in biofuels that would power the vehicles of the future. Discover how a growing appetite for Palm oil led to mass deforestation on the other side of the world on the island of Borneo—one of the only habitats of the orangutan, one of our closest cousins.

If You Want to Tackle Big Problems, Try Thinking Like a Bee
Mary Halton, IDEAS.TED.COM

When it comes to climate change, the greatest minds in the world are struggling to come up with solutions. Maybe it’s time to look elsewhere for inspiration—like the humble honey bee. This TEDx talk from beekeeper Marianne Gee will open your eyes to our interrelationship with bees—and show that thinking small, like the bee, may be the best way to think big. Watch and share this video so we can all “waggle” together and make a change for Earth Day.

Hopefully these reads give you perspective, inspiration, and something good to put in your Pocket. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn to get great recommendations every day.

Happy Sunday!

We’re not yet two months into 2019, and the year has already seen its share of viral memes: Nancy Pelosi’s State of the Union clap, Bird Box blindfolds, the #10YearChallenge. It’s more proof that memes—those ultra-shareable, customizable images and GIFs that allow different corners of the internet’s hive mind to spread and share an idea or in-joke—have become a mainstay of our social web.

But just where do memes come from and what do they tell us about how we communicate online today? Why have they morphed far beyond their goofy origins to become a tool of both protest and political disinformation? This Sunday, dive into these three smart reads on the impact of memes on our modern online lives.

When Internet Memes Infiltrate the Physical World
An Xiao Mina, The Atlantic

Deplorable frogs and “nasty women” aren’t just online for comic relief. They’re central to how people engage with political issues.

Ermahgerddon: The Untold Story of the Ermahgerd Girl
Darryn King, Vanity Fair

Meet Maggie Goldenberger, who helplessly watched an Internet meme spawn from her awkward adolescent photo. What happens when you unknowingly go viral — and how do you continue to own your story, in real life?

World War Meme
Ben Schreckinger, Politico

A group of anonymous keyboard commandos swarmed the internet for Donald Trump in the run-up to the 2016 election, helping memes from obscure message boards cross over into the mainstream. Their success could change how political campaigns target and influence voters.

Speaking of ideas that spread like wildfire, did you know you that once you’ve saved these articles to Pocket, you can share them with friends? You can also recommend great reads to those who follow you on Pocket. So whether you’re spreading ideas, or just reading about how they spread, enjoy your Sunday reading time!

Have you made progress on a resolution or goal for 2019? If not, you’re in good company. Behavior change can be hard. But fear not: This Sunday, Pocket is here to support you. Jumpstart your progress with three great reads that reveal the underpinnings of procrastination, provide new ways of thinking that can propel you forward, and help you look at a challenge in an entirely new way. Sound refreshing? Put these articles in your Pocket and charge into February with a whole new perspective.

The Ultimate Guide to Becoming Your Best Self: Build your Daily Routine by Optimizing Your Mind, Body and Spirit
Chris Winfield, Medium

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle is credited with these famous words. So rather than do what he’d always done, Chris Winfield decided to take a different path…to listen to Aristotle and establish a positive daily routine. See if the steps and approaches he offers work for you.

How to Beat Procrastination
Caroline Webb, Harvard Business Review

We can look and feel busy, while artfully avoiding the tasks that really matter. And when we look at those rolling, long-untouched items at the bottom of our to-do list, we can’t help but feel a little disappointed in ourselves. We may be programmed to procrastinate, but rest assured, there are solutions.

Inversion: The Crucial Thinking Skill Nobody Ever Taught You
James Clear, JamesClear.com

Mental models are thinking tools that can help us make decisions and solve problems. James Clear shows how you can use a mental model called inversion to upend your normal patterns of thought in order to see a situation from a whole new angle, and possibly take a different action as a result. Who doesn’t like a fresh perspective and a new way to solve a problem?

At Pocket, we aim to reveal and share great writing and thinking from across the web, so that you can benefit from it too. If you want to see even more on this topic, visit http://www.getpocket.com, sign up for an account if you don’t yet have one, and hit the Explore tab to find more great content. Sign up for Pocket Hits to get exceptional content delivered right to your inbox. And follow us on your favorite social platform to see more of what we share and let us know if it’s valuable to you!

Have a peaceful Sunday, from the team at Pocket.

Nothing beats waking up after a night of rest feeling refreshed. Quality sleep helps us recover, grow, and lead a healthier life. Can you count the times you’ve had trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or not getting enough sleep? The new year is a perfect time to learn more about sleep and how to improve your own sleeping habits.

What Happened When I Tried the U.S. Army’s Tactic to Fall Asleep in Two Minutes
Michael Grothaus, Fast Company

The technique has been used to help people fall asleep in the most uncomfortable circumstances, and best of all, it’s said to work for 96% of the people who tried it for six weeks.

While We Sleep, Our Mind Goes on an Amazing Journey
Michael Finkel, National Geographic

Around 3500 B.C., Aristotle wrote an essay wondering why we sleep. For the next 2,300 years, no one had a good answer. It’s only in the past few decades, as imaging machines have allowed ever deeper glimpses of the brain’s inner workings, that we’ve begun to understand the science of sleep.

The Brain Benefits of Deep Sleep—and How to Get More of It
Dan Gartenberg, TED

Deep sleep is the most regenerative stage of sleep, which might help us consolidate our memories and form our personalities. What if technology could help us get more out of it?

So now that ‘sleeping more in 2019’ is one of your new goals, do you know about Pocket’s auto dark mode? If you read in Pocket before bed, turn on auto dark mode from the article view and your articles will display on a dark background at night. As you may know, blue light from mobile screens can interfere with good sleep. So try out auto dark mode and tell us what you think.

Do you have any valuable articles about sleep in your Pocket? Share them with us!

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.

Money does help to turn the wheel of life. It buys necessities, access, and even privilege. But what is wealth? What if you already have wealth—right now—and didn’t realize it? What does access to more money actually buy you? And what might happen if we collectively evolved our definition of wealth to include things that aren’t material—like knowledge or human capacity? Save and read these three articles in Pocket and get a new perspective.

The Price of Happiness: Horizontal vs Vertical Wealth
Charles Chu, Medium

Money can’t buy you happiness—or can it? Charles Chu takes a look at the traits of the wealthiest people he admires, observes different approaches to living, and arrives at an interesting insight.

The 9.9% is the new American Aristocracy
Matthew Stewart, The Atlantic

Contrary to popular myth, economic mobility in the land of opportunity is not high, and it’s going down.

Our attitude towards wealth played a crucial role in Brexit. We need a rethink.
Stephen Hawking, The Guardian

On the heels of Brexit in 2016, physicist Stephen Hawking, who passed away in March, penned an article encouraging people to change their view of wealth and money. “Everything is connected,” he wrote. “If we wish to understand the fundamental nature of the universe, we’d be very foolish to ignore the role that wealth does and doesn’t play in our society.”

Hopefully, these reads give you a fresh perspective and even a new way to think about money, wealth, and how to find happiness. Tell us, what are your goals in the new year?