What are your MOST useful or interesting e-mail subscriptions, newsletters or notifications?
January 7, 2010 2:10 PM

What are your most useful or interesting e-mail subscriptions, newsletters or notifications? I switched gears recently to get more things delivered to my inbox (as opposed to seeking them via RSS or visiting their site), and I've enjoyed the added convenience, and the convenience of centralization around my inbox. I'd like to improve the convenience even further by learning what inbox messages or services you've found most useful.

Aside from the more generalized question above (which I'd like because it'll yield results I simply wouldn't have thought of), I'm also wondering specifically if there is a way to have friends' Facebook status updates delivered via e-mail, or specific users' or tags' del.icio.us links delivered via e-mail – aside from RSS-to-mail options.

Also, there's a hell of a lot of options heavy on the dreck and glurge when searching for a "motivational quote of the day" or "inspirational quote of the day." Specific recommendations as to your feelings as to the best of breed in those areas would be appreciated.
posted by MikeHarris to Grab Bag (21 answers total) 34 users marked this as a favorite
I love Harper's Weekly Review, a wry and often offbeat summary of the previous week's events.
posted by susanvance at 2:22 PM on January 7, 2010


The economist's "business this week" and "politics this week" emails.

And Dailylit.
posted by lucia__is__dada at 2:22 PM on January 7, 2010


Quotes of the day: have a cron job run the fortune program on a Unix system every day and mail the output to you. The fortune quote database is absolutely brilliant.
posted by knz at 2:32 PM on January 7, 2010


The only newsletter I subscribe to that I do not create myself for clients is MyFonts. The monthly interview is always really interesting because font designers come from a vast range of backgrounds, and the other bi-weekly edition is a nice quick look at what's trending in typography. Which influences the design of what you'll see soon after in all kinds of ways more than you might imagine.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:33 PM on January 7, 2010


I like "straight dope". It provides a great time killer (weekly).
posted by caelumluna at 2:42 PM on January 7, 2010


You may enjoy Interesting-People and/or RISKS.
posted by tellumo at 2:44 PM on January 7, 2010


I get the Murthy Bulletin, which is essential reading if you are a cog in the wheel of the US immigration process (obviously a niche market).
posted by crazycanuck at 2:51 PM on January 7, 2010


Cool Tools reviews are emailed before they appear on the site. Subscribing requires submitting a review.
posted by djb at 3:16 PM on January 7, 2010


Seconding RISKS and Cool Tools - I got on the CT e-mail list for reviewing Dr. Brown's baby bottles awhile back. I'm also a bit of an almanac freak, so I get semi-regular (and interesting to me) mail from the Old Farmer's Almanac people.
posted by jquinby at 3:32 PM on January 7, 2010


I can credit two of my favorite handbags and at least a dozen different shirts, sweaters, and jackets to the genius that is SaleMail. You can choose your size and designers/brands you like, as well as the frequency you want to be notified of sales, and you get a fantastic email delivered to you with your customized selections. Absolutely fantastic.

I also really enjoy The Writer's Almanac, which offers not only a daily poem, but also birthdays and trivia about famous writers/poets/etc. in addition to celebrating historical events and things like that - wonderful!
posted by banannafish at 4:00 PM on January 7, 2010


I am always amazed and the useful stuff on my daily emails from Makeuseof.com.
posted by arco at 4:03 PM on January 7, 2010


I enjoy Very Short List myself (although I wish I could get it as RSS instead of email, in contrast to your preferences).
posted by timepiece at 4:48 PM on January 7, 2010


Big fan of Crap I Missed It for Tv shows - also available for concerts, movies, books, etc.
posted by kidsleepy at 5:11 PM on January 7, 2010


link - http://www.crapimissedit.com/
posted by kidsleepy at 5:12 PM on January 7, 2010


David Meadows' "explorator" is a weekly email digest of archaeology news from around the world. Some of it I have seen before but there is often obscure and interesting or tantalizing archaeological news from the far corners.
posted by Rumple at 5:47 PM on January 7, 2010


Edge : what's going on in science and culture
posted by lalochezia at 5:53 PM on January 7, 2010


Daily Candy - shopping deals and other fun things to do in various cities.
posted by easy_being_green at 7:08 PM on January 7, 2010


eflux for the art world
posted by Jason and Laszlo at 8:29 PM on January 7, 2010


I like Netted, which I guess is put out by the Webby Awards people. It sends you an interesting/useful website every day or so.

Also, DailyLit sends you a few pages a day from any of large selection of books--classics are free and it's a great way to read books you've always meant to get to but haven't had time. You can also adjust the frequency, e.g pause for vacation, or get the next installment right away if you get sucked in.
posted by exceptinsects at 11:40 PM on January 7, 2010


I've been reading This is True for ages. It has free & premium versions (I'll admit I only subscribe to the free). Weekly frequency.
posted by joeycoleman at 10:49 AM on January 10, 2010


I love A Phrase A Week. They send an email covering the origins of commonly used English phrases. By and large it is my favourite email of the week. I will make no bones about it, I love fathoming out the meanings and history of phrases and their email really is the bee's knees.
posted by jonesor at 4:41 AM on January 12, 2010


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