How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Katie Benner, a technology reporter for The Times based in San Francisco, discussed the tech she’s using.
How do you organize your work flow, and what tools do you use?
I do almost everything on my iPhone: communicate, organize my day, find my way around and avoid awkward conversation at parties. Weekdays begin with a look at my calendar, messages, email and the weather, in that order. I listen to our podcast, The Daily, and audiobooks during my morning walk. And I entertain myself with an app called Brilliant and the New York Times Cooking app during my commute. When Tim Cook announces that the next iPhone will be embedded directly into my palm, I’ll be bummed out because I’ve always liked having the use of both my hands.
I’m on all the messaging apps — text, Slack, Twitter direct messages, Google Hangouts and Facebook Messenger — because it’s my job to respond to sources as quickly and conveniently for them as possible. When I don’t see unread message notifications I feel bereft. This is also why I have the attention span of a toddler.
But my primary messaging tool is the encrypted app Signal. I often set conversations to self-destruct, which makes it as close to an in-person chat as you can get online. Telegram is another popular encrypted app, but it has some quirks, like displaying which of your contacts was online and when.
Once, while reporting out a story about Uber, I saw lots of Uber reporters and sources were on Telegram at the same time, or had been within five minutes of one another. I experienced a horrifying cocktail of anxiety and agitation. I try to use it sparingly.
Email is pretty much a newsletter graveyard. I also use it to send notes that say things like “call me” and “message me on a far more secure service.”
I go through spurts with Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, but then I need to do things like work or have human contact, and I leave them. When I land my dream job — cranky college professor in the year 1990 — I will embrace a social network-free life faster…
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