RSS
The answer is something called “Really Simple Syndication” (“RRS” for short). How simple is it? When I find a blog I like, I “subscribe” to it. From that point on, any time there is a new post in that blog, the post appears as simply another e-mail message. The act of checking my e-mail also checks every one of those blogs for new posts.
How do I get started?
You will need an “RSS reader.” The one I use is called intraVnews. It is free for personal use, charities, and non-profit organizations. You can download it from here.
The system requirements are:
- Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1. (Click the link to download it)
- Operating Systems: Microsoft© Windows© 98 SE or higher.
- Microsoft© Outlook© versions: 2002/XP (10.0), 2003 (11.0).
2 comments:
I agree that using an RSS feed reader is a great way to a) integrate information sources, and b) get them out of the email inbox. That said, I think the question then becomes how to manage the great number of feeds. I'd like to hear about how you manage them.
I created one subfolder in my Outlook Inbox called "RSS Feeds." Each time I subscribe to a blog, I have the posts go to that one folder. Since those are all going to be pretty low on the priority list, I have them sent to that one folder, which keeps "In" from getting too full of noise. When I go to that folder, I sort it by "From." That puts all of the posts from one blog right together.
Right now, I subscribe to 8 blogs, and the number of posts they generate is small. There might be a dozen posts that accumulate over a few days. *If* on the other hand, I was having to go to each of 8 blogs on a regular basis to see if anything had been updated, that would quickly become a pain in the neck.
Post a Comment