RSS Feeds and Google Reader

I just recently decided to start utilizing RSS Feeds. I have a handful of websites that I check multiple times a day. Sometimes there are updates, most times there are not. With RSS Feeds, I am notified in one stop of all the updates to ALL of the sites I check.

What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a family of web formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually. A google engineer used the analogy that it's like email, but for web updates.

Mail RSS Reader

I have an Apple MacBook Pro running Leopard 10.5.1 I use (and love) Apple Mail. I check my google email as well as my staff email with this program. With the latest OSX upgrade, Mail now features an RSS Reader. Fantastic. I check my email 80,000 times a day, and now I can see when my favorite celebrity blogs are updated, too!

This only works when I'm at home or have my laptop. At work, I still have to check each website, or add the RSS Feed to the my work machine. What if I'm on vacation? Or visiting my parents for the weekend? Answer: Google Reader (for the win!).

Google Reader

This weekend, my geeky friend and I were discussing all things nerdy (computers, iPhones, blogs, and RSS Readers). I asked what reader he used. I was fully prepared to brag about Apple Mail's RSS Reader and blow whatever program he uses out of the water. Not so much... He introduced me to Google Reader.

It works just like Apple Mail, but its web based! So I can check this from any computer with an Internet connection. You can also add feeds to your iGoogle website, simply brilliant. 

Now I just go to google.com/reader instead of visiting all of the websites I normally would. It lists all of my subscriptions and lets me know how many (if any) updates there have been since I last checked.

In case you haven't noticed, Google.com is the shit. I'll probably post about that in greater detail later....

Shameless plug:

You can subscribe to my RSS Feed here!