How to Hack Content Curation

Updated September 2026: Digg Reader is gone, so I added the tools and workflow I’d use for content curation today, including where AI fits and the guardrails I’d set.

Do you love curating content? Ok, you might not know what that means.

How about: Do you love sharing great articles? Do you read blogs and news sites daily?

Then you should automate all of this!

Enter Digg Reader and Buffer to automate your content curation.

Digg has been around the internet for ages, but did you know they have an RSS reader? You can organize your favorite RSS feeds into folders.

From there, it’s pretty easy to read all the RSS feeds you like, but sharing them on Digg Reader was kind of a headache. I also liked Digg’s Reader app, which changes the articles into an easier reading format, removing all ads and junk, and leaving just the content. (Tried to like Feedly after Google Reader died and just didn’t. Digg is cleaner.)

So how did I make Digg and Buffer work together?

IFTTT.

I love IFTTT. If you’re not using it, well, we can still be friends, but you should. IFTTT automates your life.

I created a “recipe” that if I “digg” an article then the Title and URL of that article gets sent to my Buffer queue.

And just like that, I am now an automation content marketing GENIUS! (Just kidding, I’m not that smart. 💁)

You can find the recipe here.

Update: Digg Reader is gone

Digg shut down Digg Reader back in 2018, so the recipe above won’t work anymore. IFTTT is still around (recipes are called Applets now), and so is Buffer, now at buffer.com. The tools changed. The idea didn’t: read widely, share the best, and automate the boring parts.

How I’d curate content today

If I were setting this up from scratch today, I’d build a simple four-step workflow.

1. Collect. Use an RSS reader like Feedly or Inoreader and organize your feeds into folders, just like I did with Digg. Give your email newsletters their own inbox folder so they don’t bury your real mail.
2. Save. When something looks good, save it to a read-later app like Instapaper or star it in your reader. Don’t share anything you haven’t actually read.
3. Schedule. Queue your picks in a scheduler like Buffer, or Meta Business Suite if you only post to Facebook and Instagram. Spread them out through the week.
4. Automate the handoff. Use IFTTT or Zapier to send a saved or starred article to your scheduler. I recommend sending it in as a draft, not straight to publish, so a human still adds the “why this matters” line.

Where AI fits (with guardrails)

AI can save you real time here. Use it to summarize a long article so you can decide whether it’s worth a full read, to suggest a few caption options, or to pull out the one line your audience needs to hear.

But curation is about your judgment. That’s the whole point. So set some guardrails:

• Read it before you share it. An AI summary is a starting point, not a substitute.
• Check the facts and quotes. AI tools can get details wrong with total confidence. Verify against the original.
• Always credit and link the source. Share a link and your short take, not the author’s whole article.
• Keep your voice. Edit AI-drafted captions until they sound like you. I wrote more on that in Using AI to Write Sermons, Newsletters, and Social Posts Without Losing Your Voice.
• Don’t auto-post AI output. A person approves every post.

If you’re new to AI tools, start with The Art of the Prompt.

A simple weekly curation rhythm

You don’t need hours for this. Here’s a rhythm that fits in about thirty minutes a week:

• Monday: Skim your reader for 15 minutes and save five to ten articles.
• Tuesday: Read what you saved. Pick the best three to five.
• Same day: Write one sentence for each about why it matters to your audience, then schedule them through the week.
• Once a month: Look at what people clicked and shared. Unsubscribe from feeds you always skip.

Curation done well makes you a trusted guide. People follow you because you save them time and point them to what’s worth reading. If you want help building a content workflow for your team, let’s talk.

Frequently asked questions