Want an easy way to keep track of blogs and other sites with frequently updated content? Use an RSS reader. RSS stands for “real simple syndication” and provides a way to use a “reader” application to subscribe to content.
You can learn more about RSS readers by searching Google. But given that you’ve already established a Google Account, you might want to give Google Reader a try. When you come across a web site that has a “Subscribe” or RSS button, click on the link and the feed will be added to your Google Reader account. Or you can copy and site’s URL into the subscription box on the Google Reader page.
After you’ve subscribed to a blog, you can read its most recent posts within your RSS reader, which has several benefits. The biggest benefit is that the reader will keep track of which posts you’ve read and which you haven’t yet read, the way your email app does. Another benefit is that you can easily “favorite” a blog post and/or send it to your friends via the most common social media apps.
If you like to read a lot of blogs, another big benefit is that you only have to go to one place, the reader app, to keep up to date with all your blogs, instead of going to each one individually. The reader simplifies the formatting of each blog post, but if you want to see a post in its original format, just click on its subject line.
Another way to subscribe to blogs is to use a dashboard-base reader like Netvibes, which you might find handy for more than just blog reading. You can put all kinds of info on your dashboard pages, which make Netvibes a nice option for a “home page.”
For instructions on using blog readers, see the handouts under Social Media Tools.
For more info on the concept of readers and how to use Google Reader, see Google Reader’s help videos on YouTube. Also see this helpful overview:
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