Browsers today allow users to do many things — without downloading separate programs on your computer. It’s enough to simply take advantage of the additional features of browsers.
I decided to write this piece when I discovered that the majority of my journalism students not only doesn’t use these applications, but also isn’t aware of them.
Let’s look at some of the applications provided by the two browsers used most in Armenia — Chrome and Firefox.
One of the most useful apps is Evernote, which is very practical for journalists, since it allows one to store audio recordings, photos, and so on, in one place.
With Evernote, users can save webpages and make screenshots, which allows them to archive and tag necessary content.
In addition, content saved this way can be used as proof — which is important for journalists when working with online sources.
Also important is that Evernote saves a page not as an image, but as an active page, with all the embedded hyperlinks and so on (see here for the Chrome extension and here for the Firefox add-on).
If simple screenshots are needed, then one of the best apps is Awesome Screenshot, which allows users to “photograph” an image from any webpage, annotate, make marks on it, write, highlight, and so on (Chrome extension and Firefox add-on).
To read online content later, one can use Read Later, which allows users to not accumulate opened websites in a browser for days — which they’re planning on reading during their free time but that free time never comes (Chrome extension and Firefox add-on).
Content can also be sent to mobile phones, for reading simple, pared-down mobile versions, through Pocket (Chrome extension and Firefox add-on).
These are just but a few useful tools. Such add-ons (Firefox) and extensions (Chrome) are developed in the thousands, and journalists can make their work easier by using several other useful tools.
Samvel Martirosyan
