If you have dozens of tabs open on your browser that you can’t read any of the tab names, you may want to consider this relatively new (well, it was launched in 2013, so it’s not new) bookmarking tool. May need something called Raindrop.io.
TJ McCue screenshot of Raindrop.io bookmark manager
Raindrop.io is a beautiful web bookmark manager and tool. The free version does most of what you need with unlimited bookmarks and highlights on unlimited devices. Save images, articles, videos, and of course web pages. If you need a little more like a personal librarian on call in your personal library (no AI, sorry), then consider the Pro level for $28 per year. You can search everything you’ve saved, including PDFs.
Raindrop works directly on the web (works as an app, but opens in a tab) and has a dedicated app for almost every platform or device: iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows, Linux, and Mac. OS. For browsers: Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge have robust extensions.
Raindrop.io vs. Pocket vs. Pinboard
In short, Pocket is Raindrop’s main competitor and is a bit more ubiquitous in terms of brand name recognition. It offers many of the same features, but its premium version is $45 per year, so when I came back to try to configure how to capture and store bookmarks and other reading items, I Started using Raindrop.io because of the $28/year price. , but quickly fell in love with its organizational functionality.
Pinboard is another bookmarking service that I still use quite a bit and love. It bills itself as social bookmarking for introverts and has a look and feel that speaks to that. Super easy, smooth, and works. In fact, in my mind, the granddaddy, or granddaddy, of social bookmarking is, or was, deliciously achieved by Pinboard, so kudos to them. It shows that they get the community aspect of bookmarking and know how to serve customers. It doesn’t have a free tier account, but $22 per year is pretty reasonable and you can still access all your bookmarks for free if you stop using it. You can’t just add new ones.
Main Features of Raindrop.io
In short, almost any app comes down to individual preference and how it fits into your workflow, how you like the design and user experience, and if it has the tools you need. Makes life easier. Testing new apps is part of my job and I enjoy it. However, I try to work with an app for a period of time to see if it can help me get more done, think more clearly, and manage the increased flow of information. It affects us all.
I found the user experience with Raindrop to be a little friendlier and faster. I like the design and especially the ability to toggle into what they call a “mood board” and it shows Tumblr-like stories, displaying your bookmarks as a magazine-type cover (screenshot below). I can just search and pull up a list for those times when I have to drill down through thousands of bookmarks. You can see on the right with the red #1 and orange highlights where I wrote a note to myself. I love that feature.
A screenshot of the Raindrop.io “moodboard” that allows you to see a more dynamic, visual scene. … [+]
I really liked that I could create a shareable bookmark board and give access to a handful of people to brainstorm sites that helped me with a project.
It’s great to describe the highlights. Highlighting saves what you’ve highlighted on a web page so that when you click a link to return, it shows you the same icon, which helps you reset yourself. Why did you save it in the first place?
The best part for me, and what I consider the annotation, is being able to write something about the bookmark — and you can go to the description section and, in addition to the tagging and sorting options, bookmark at the top. Can enter information. Marked in the ModBoard screenshot above.
Raindrop.io is worth a try and can meet your needs for monitoring many places you roam the web. Try it out and let me know in the comments or on social media what you think about it or other bookmarking or productivity tools. Keep organized out there.