The Paperini Team is a blog category introducing the people working for the Paperini news reading app. First up is Joanna.
You have been curating for Paperini for some time, for the Swedish speaking market in Finland. What kind of a mix are you looking for when you choose featured stories?
‘Something serious and something light’ is a good motto. I also like to make sure that articles of a more general nature get mixed with human interest stories, whatever the topic.
Who is Paperini for?
Anyone interested in concentrating their news intake – it’s efficient and hassle-free compared to looking up sites and newspapers separately. The diversity of the service is also a great plus. I almost always stumble across something interesting I wouldn’t have known to look for on my own.
You’ve been advocating for cutting down on social media. What are the three biggest problems with social media, in your opinion?
1. People act as though consuming a steady flow of text, images and opinions throughout the day doesn’t really affect us, when the truth is that it has a massive impact on our moods and thoughts. I’d rather not give that power away very much at all
2. Creativity requires that we clear some space for it. If we reach for our phones every time there is a dull moment, there won’t be any space to fill.
3. Our thought processes and concentration suffer as a result of constant connectedness. Taking in social media in controlled doses, perhaps just a few times per day, sets the balance right and turns it back from a drug into a spice.
Speaking of news. You seem familiar. Have you been in the newspaper recently? That seems like a pointed question… Yes, last year my book Sisu – The Finnish Art of Courage came out in the UK and received quite a bit of coverage both there and elsewhere. As a sometime journalist myself, it’s been very educational to see how the big news outlets conduct interviews, for instance. Have picked up a few pointers for sure!