Feed Me

No, this isn't another food post. If the number of blogs you read is getting a little high and you frequently check them only to find no new posts since your last visit, it's time to look into setting up a feed reader. I only had the vaguest idea what it was all about, but I managed to get it going on my own, and it is pretty cool. I didn't go the popular Bloglines route because it provided too little information for my liking and I didn't want to create yet another account somewhere. So because I already have a Google account I am using Google Reader. There are several ways to subscribe to feeds:
(1) In Google Reader, hit "Add Subscription," type in the URL (I haven't actually tried this. It probably works best for blogger blogs).
(2) Click on the link or button within a page that says RSS or subscribe.
(3) Click on the feed icon within the address bar.
Options 2 and 3 may require some setting up in your browser. It was easy in Firefox 2.0.

You can subscribe to more than just blogs. Find out when your Flickr contacts add new photos or when someone comments on your photos. Sign up for newspaper feeds (NYTimes or Washington Post). I've gone a little crazy and have 54 73 subscriptions, the majority of which I never visited regularly before, when it was more work. I may cull the list later. One knitting blog I read does not have a feed, and I've already forgotten to go to her site a few times. I don't know about Bloglines, but Google Reader can take its time to update the feeds, so if you want to be alerted of any current traffic jams while they're still current, you're better off visiting the site directly and not relying on your feed (likewise with the hot yarn deals you can find at Destash and Good Yarn Karma--a lot are already claimed by the time I see them).

I'm not crazy about being logged in to Google so much, but it is very cool to see your Reader tab update when a new blog post comes in.

I don't have a shared list yet but maybe I'll share it someday. Like I said, I may drop some subscriptions.