A READER'S READER

I spoke on the topic of social media at a recent workshop. Don't laugh, I didn't promote myself as an expert. I might have been able to fool some of them, but I could never fool anybody who's been following this blog for the past six months. You guys would "out" me in a New York minute. But I digress.

Quite a few of the people at the workshop were unfamiliar with online "media aggregators," the tools that let you get material delivered directly to you instead of having to visit a dozen different websites every day. You can subscribe to most of these sites by email too, but sometimes the emails pile up, we don't have time to read them, and they take up valuable space on our mailboxes and servers.

That's why they created these media aggregators, or readers. The service allows you to subscribe to different blogs and news feeds via RSS (Really Simple Syndication), and get all those feeds in one place without utilizing email.

The two aggregators that are easiest to use for a beginner (like me) are Google Reader and Bloglines. They are both free, and simple to set up. Just choose one, open an account and then visit the sites you like to check every day. Most websites that offer syndication will show the RSS logo (shown above left) in a prominent spot.

When you click on the RSS logo, you'll see a screen or dialog box that asks you which reader you want to use. Just click on the reader you've chosen, and follow the instructions from there. You can add as many subscriptions as you like. I've set up about a dozen so far, ranging from news sites (MSNBC, Washington Post, New York Times) to blogs (NakedPR, The Fix, Talking Points, Huffington Post). I'm using Bloglines, which I find very user-friendly.

Then, when you have time to catch up on your reading, just go to your media reader site and you'll see all your feeds listed. Most readers show you if new pieces have come in since the last time you checked, and how many total pieces are waiting for review. You can set your reader up to show you headlines only, or to provide the entire story or blog.

Sometimes I can't figure out why everyone is so busy all the time, but I guess we are, so using a media aggregator is a great way to keep up with your favorite sites without having to mess with bookmarks, passwords, slow downloads, and the other aggravations associated with moving from site to site.

By the way, you can now sign up to get my blog updates this way. To the top right of the screen, you'll see a box that says "Subscribe To" and then two options: Posts and Comments. If you click on "Posts," you'll see a list of the readers you can use. Just pick the one you've signed up with, and follow the on-screen instructions. Then, you'll automatically get my new blogs when they appear.

Imagine the thrill.