Five tools that make my job easier

It feels like everyday I come across a new “must-have journalism tool” to add to my ever-growing collection.

The challenge, though, is separating the tools that deserve the time from those that just suck time away.

The following are some that I’ve found worth the investment.

A few are relatively new to the scene, while others are oldies-but-goodies.

They help me make better use of Twitter, Facebook and RSS feeds and help me create smart-phone apps and data visualizations — not too shabby for a programming neophyte.

Let me know about some of your must-haves, and I’ll hopefully get some more to add to my list.