Top 5 Websites for Content Curation

Hello readers! Time has flown by really quickly and it's almost the end of the month! I have had a lot of time to think about my current situation and it's safe to say that I definitely have it all together now and will be able to continue with the blog as normal. Now I know I promised a change in the content structure a few weeks ago and I can confirm that today will be the first post where I will be listing the top 5 websites of different categories! Finally I can pick up where I left off earlier and keep moving forward from now on. Anyway lets dive in, shall we?

In this post, I am going to be reviewing 5 particular websites that are some of the best in the field of 'Content Curation'. For those of you that don't know, Content curation is a form of online content management which involves a process of collating information from various sources that fall under a certain topic or category and placing them into an online feed or newspaper format. It's a pretty simple setup in my opinion, as funneling content into one feed helps to gain interest from audiences who enjoy reading about particular topics. Another great thing about content curation that it allows the author's work to be more recognized in the feed itself, leading to more visitors to the author's website and potentially include an increase in ad revenue. With that being said, here are the top 5 best websites specializing in content curation in no particular order:

1. Flipboard

Flipboard is a content curation platform dedicated to providing the best news-related stories from different areas of interest. The site itself is easy to use as all you have to do is create an account and select categories that you prefer reading about. Once completed, Flipboard will automatically search for articles from those categories and place them into a 'magazine' for your personalized reading needs. It's a pretty neat website to use as the functionality is crisp and smooth, works without any issues. Bonus points if you have a Samsung phone as the mobile version of Flipboard would be automatically downloaded in the app folder, perfect for personalized reading on the go. Excellent presentation of the curated stories and easy to read as well. It is suitable to a general audience.

2. Scoop.It

Scoop.It is a content marketing site that works in a similar way to Flipboard, however the only difference is that it's only suited to professional individuals or businesses who are looking to research various content sources and publish the best content in their chosen field in order to curate an online feed. When registering with Scoop.It, you need to have your own website and add topics of interest related to the company you work with. (e.g technology, business, finance). From there Scoop.It funnels through content from these topics and places them into an online newspaper format. It also gives you the opportunity to distribute your feed to other social networks such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and more; perfect for spreading your curated content to other channels and increasing professional brand/awareness. Another simple website that functions well for businesses, with great editorial/distribution features and represents professionalism in a new light. 

3. Paper.Li

Remember when I wrote about two of my reviews being published into Paper.Li's content curation platform a while ago? Well I definitely have some good things to say about this site. Paper.Li allows you and people within your professional network to curate content dedicated to your business or individual needs. There is also an interesting feature on the site where you can add special integrations that assist on the more technical side of things such as  analytics, email marketing, automation and much more. I can't think of another website that thinks outside the box of general content curation and strengthens the capacity of sharing curated content elsewhere. Great stuff. Also functions well on mobile. An excellent set of features and works like a breeze.

4. Pinterest

You might be wondering why I decided to add Pinterest in this list as it is usually regarded as a social network. However the presentation and format of this site is strongly influenced by content curation and online content feeds, but in the form of images and artwork. Again, it allows you to choose topics/genres/themes of interest which are increasingly vast in the photography and art scene, so you basically have many areas to choose from. Pinterest a nice mix of content curation and social networking and is suitable to the general audience. I think that the functionality on both desktop and mobile can be improved a little bit as well.

5. Pocket

This is a relatively new website that I came across recently. Pocket is a web service that allows general content curation that flows through one channel called a 'Pocket'. In this site you are given the opportunity to save important content to read later. Pocket strongly relies on the idea that saving content for later reading is a valuable time-saver where you don't have to read through your curated feed all at once. You don't even need to miss a story as it's all right there in the Pocket. a pretty neat concept for a new platform and I would recommend it to all the busy people who don't have time to read curated content during the day. Pocket is an interesting platform that might need some to future minor improvements down the track but overall a good site with neat presentation and use of concept.

That's it guys my first top 5 list is completed for the week! I hope you enjoy this new content and let me know what you think in the comments. See you again for a full website review next Monday! Thanks again!

Website Review #10 - Workana.com

Hi everyone! Before I begin I would like to apologize for not posting my review as planned yesterday as it was my birthday and I was spending time with friends, family and ate some delicious cake! Anyway I am back now so I'd better get a move on.

Today I will be reviewing Workana.com, another interesting freelancing site that I found out about recently and has quickly become an instant favorite for looking into freelancing/remote work. Let me tell you a bit more about it:

For those of you that don't know, Workana is a freelancing network that is based out of Latin America, however it has since branched out internationally to appeal to a wider audience of freelancers worldwide. It is a relatively little known compared to similar sites, although fairly popular in Latin America, but it definitely has it's hidden advantages that would stand out amongst the much bigger platforms such as UpWork, Fiverr and AirTasker. 

Workana.com Homepage - Simple presentation with no mess, just a clean design and a claim
that is truthful and legitimate. 

Workana works just like any other freelancing site with it's bidding + proposal policies, the ability to find jobs that suit your skill set and the opportunity to communicate with clients via the built-in instant messaging systems. Now I would like to trace back to a statement that I made regarding the whole bidding and proposal setup that I mentioned in my review about Hubstaff Talent, where I wrote about the typically important idea of placing bids for projects and preparing standout proposals being seen as a difficult, time-consuming task which might not lead to a response from potential clients. This particular opinion that I had turned out to be a fairly incorrect due to my constant misunderstanding of the idea, as I have since registered for the larger-known sites (including Workana) to test out it's bidding strategies and proposals; turns out that it wasn't as hard as I thought because all I had to do was write the proposal in a similar style to a cover letter and think of a price that falls within the client's budget. That's it. It's still a 50/50 chance as to whether you would receive a response or not but I guess standing out against the pack is important in the 'gig economy'. Now that I have tried out the bidding + proposal system for myself, I can definitely say that my opinion has changed slightly.

Workana works as in a simple and basic fashion without many complex instructions, and signing up is as easy as 1,2,3. In the onboarding session, you register your details as per usual and read through the general policies. After this, you are required you to take a little quiz in order to help you understand the policies and your rights as a freelancer. I like that Workana does its best to push their policies as the top priority on the list, as it is extremely important that you work appropriately within the grounds of the website and keep your contacts private. Workana has an extensive job board that houses projects that are suitable to your skills and experience, just like any other freelancing platform. However applying for a job on Workana is surprisingly easy; their bidding and proposal system is actually the simplest one that I have come across so far. So if you ever have trouble with coming up with a standout proposal, there are helpful instructions located on the right hand side of the page that will guide you step by step on demonstrating your skills/experience, your preferred timeframes for the project and the most important part, planning a deadline (due date) for the project completion. It is actually an easy setup that I didn't even know about the first time and I am very pleased to say that for the first couple of projects that I applied for actually received responses from clients! That's right, I finally received a client's reply to my proposals and this is exactly how a freelancing platform should work, where both clients and freelancers can communicate freely without any restrictions or concerns. Excellent stuff!

Here is Workana's job board with some examples of available projects in data entry,
accounting, admin support etc.

These are just some of the advantages that Workana has in store for the modern freelancer, however I do see some room for improvement on the site in the future. I have noticed that the profile page is quite basic and adds little substance, which can be improved by possibly adding more sections such as educational background, more skills, certifications or the option to add your resume. There is no specific section for building a portfolio on Workana compared to the other platforms, as it says that you need to import it from a site called Behance (which from what I read is a portfolio creator for designers/artists). It would be nice if there was a way to show off your previous work in a built-in portfolio system on the site. Another thing I would like to add is that some of the projects on Workana's job board do not have as much information about deadlines or time frames and there is little to no substance on the job descriptions, but I understand that it is the client's responsibility to prepare easy-to-read project info and suggest appropriate time frame options.

Overall I think that Workana definitely has the potential to go forward in the freelancing market and compete with the bigger platforms with some improvement. It is a very simple website that cuts out all the complex instructions and really claims to be the better underdog. The site works like a breeze, and shows off a smooth, positive and colorful presentation yet keeps it's professional manner without being too out there. I would recommend Workana to the freelancers who are looking for basic, starter projects.

Final Rating: 5.5/10

That's it guys I hope you enjoyed reading the review today! I will be back tomorrow for another one to finish off the week! Just a reminder that my affiliate promotions and links are still available if you are interested. See you then!

Website Review #4 - Myopportunity.com

Hello again. I am back on schedule with my fourth review of the month!

Today I will be reviewing Myopportunity.com, which is another website focusing on a serious topic; this time in the form of business networking. This is a relatively new site that I found under a list of alternatives to professional platform LinkedIn, let me tell you a bit more about it:

Opportunity is a business networking website which works in a similar way to LinkedIn, however it is much more different in terms of generating leads and finding like-minded professionals to interact with. The website is described as a great option for individuals to build business relationships, find employment opportunities and even connect on a personal level. When compared with LinkedIn, Opportunity is an easier platform to work with and has its features spanned out across various categories rather than being crowded all over the place, and the site itself has a strong focus on building professional relationships so you don't even need to create a large profile to gain traction or stand out from other individuals. That's too much work for someone who just wants to communicate freely with anyone without any fuss!

The Myopportunity.com homepage - The presentation is as professional and positive as it gets. How inviting is this for the user? 

When you register with Opportunity, you just need to answer a few general questions such as preferred industry, locations, interests, and your current skill set. It's a simple process that won't take very long and once you enter the account portal it's all yours! You can edit your profile at any time if you want to change any details. As an additional bonus, you can also add your LinkedIn profile link or invite your LinkedIn contacts to join if you want to increase exposure. One of the best features in the Opportunity profile is the 'networking pitch' where you explain more  about your current employment, your role at work and interests outside of work. The networking pitch is important as you want to attract the right professionals with the same pathways as you and they will most certainly want to be interested in what you have to offer.

The main section of the account portal is the lead generation page, where there is a long list of professionals compiled together based on the interests and industry experience that you add to your profile. Feel free to contact as many professionals as you like as there is no boundaries for communication here. My first experience with contacting someone from Opportunity was actually quite good. A few months ago I interacted with a guy who worked in an IT company and talked about where we were at in terms of business and professional life. It was a very normal, short conversation and it just goes to show that these individuals are very serious about maintaining business relationships and they are not playing around. With Opportunity, you are basically interacting with the right people at the right time.

The Opportunity account portal and leads page, where you can build relationships with your leads based on experience and personal interests. (Names, pictures and locations of individuals have been blocked out for privacy reasons.)

Now before I finish I would like to remind you that some of the features on Opportunity are part of an extensive PRO upgrade that requires payments every month or so. Some special PRO features included in the upgrade include extra profiles for employment, dating and sales, mass messaging to all your leads and profile verification. You can even interact with special professionals who have a PRO upgrade and verified profiles! If you would like to go the extra mile and get the full package then I suggest you go ahead and try it for yourself. I haven't bought the PRO upgrade myself but I am thinking of doing so in the future. It would be nice if there was a free trial for the PRO features so you could try them out before paying for the full upgrade.

In conclusion, I believe that this website is an excellent platform for business networking and works as a great companion piece to LinkedIn. The professionals that use Opportunity for business relations are real, legitimate people and there are no fake profiles found. Anyone who is willing to maintain strong business relationships and build their professional image can use Opportunity to their full advantage. It has a clean web design and professional presentation, good functionality and interactive nature. 

Final Rating: 8/10

That's it guys! Another review done and dusted! See you on Wednesday for the next one!

Website Review #3 - Monster.com

Hello again! Just a quick heads-up from yesterday that I am feeling much better now and I would like to thank my readers for their patience as I cook up another website review! 

Today I will be reviewing Monster.com, which is completely different to the last two websites as it focuses on a more serious topic rather than leisure activities. Don't be fooled by the name, it is not as scary as you think! I am also relatively new to this site so I may be a bit slow in recognizing some of its features but I can work my way through it without any issues. Anyway, lets move on:

Monster is an American job search and career advice website that has lasted for more than 20 years. It is one the more popular and recognizable employment sites on the web and is a global leader in connecting job seeking candidates to potential career opportunities. Just like any other job search website, Monster has it's own jobs board which houses several jobs in various categories that candidates can apply for depending on their skill level, experience and compatibility.

Monster.com Homepage - Very clean and spacious presentation, shows off a professional image
that is appealing to job seekers.

Now you might be thinking, does this website do more than just match candidates with jobs? What other features are available to enhance the job search? What makes this website better than the others? Well if you delve a little bit further into Monster, you will find separate pages dedicated to career advice, resources, resume tips and salary tools; so there is always a wealth of information available on the site to assist you with your job search. You are also welcome to create a job seeker account and fill in the necessary details about your employment history, education, skills and more to add to your profile. It just goes to show that Monster isn't just about the job search at hand and that there is definitely more to discover if you dig deeper.

Another really great takeaway is that when you create a job seeker profile with Monster and upload your latest resume on their site, you are automatically eligible to have your resume assessed by a professional resume team hired by Monster. This is an excellent hidden feature that isn't easy to find on other employment websites. When I sent my resume through to the team at Monster for a professional resume assessment I was given some thorough, much needed advice on how my resume should be presented and what I should include. I trust that Monster's professional resume team is extremely knowledgeable in knowing about resume presentation and encourage all job seekers to try it out for themselves! And guess what, there's more to come! The next fantastic Easter egg in this site is that once you edit your resume and profile, you can choose whether or not you would like your account to be public and seen by recruiters! Yes, that's right! Recruiters can search through hundreds of profiles on Monster and they might get the opportunity to view yours and potentially contact you! My resume has been viewed 2 times so far, I know it is a slow start to begin with as there are a lot of profiles for them to skim through but once you tailor your profile and resume to the right standards then it will be deemed as satisfactory to the recruiter's eyes!

This is Monster's jobs board, where you type in the preferred job and location and it will automatically find similar jobs that could be the 'right fit' for the candidate.

Another thing I would like to add is all of the jobs on Monster are located in the US, as it is an American-based website. So if you are someone who is looking for work in other countries (or remote/work from home jobs within your country), there is a separate section dedicated to international jobs so you can find the right career in your preferred location.

From what I have seen so far, it looks like Monster is designed to actually help you with your job search and not leave you behind like some other casual job search sites. With it's built in features, impeccable web design and key functions, it gives off a very strong-willed demeanor and professional presentation that is inviting to the user. Their career resources are legitimate and the use of personal anecdotes in their advice section is a great source of inspiration for job seeker candidates.
Everything about this site is real. It is not trying to deceive you in any way. In conclusion, I think that Monster has the potential to go even further and add more helpful features for today's job seeker candidates.

Final Rating: 8/10

Thanks for reading my review! Unfortunately that is it for this week as I have missed out on Monday's review, but I will definitely be back on schedule next Monday so I will see you then!