My last post was all about how to utilize RSS feeds to obtain the latest information on your industry, gain a competitive advantage on your competition, and connect with your social media network. I explained how the easiest way to organize your feeds is to utilize a feed reader. But how exactly do you utilize a feed reader? Currently there are many options to choose from, but I am going to go over the ones that I personally use and think are the best. And, of course, what I think is best is the only thing that matters.
Google currently has two options for reading RSS feeds: Google Reader and iGoogle. Google Reader is set up very closely to Microsoft Outlook. If you are familiar with reading emails via this sort of interface, Google Reader will be your best option. You can also organize your feeds in folders similar to that of Outlook and keep track of read/unread items in your inbox. iGoogle is a customized homepage dashboard that can also include widgets for other items such as the weather, recent YouTube videos or even games. RSS feeds can be integrated into the dashboard for viewing at a glance. This can be beneficial if you want to see all of the latest posts at a glance along with your other customized widgets for things such as the local news or weather. This dashboard view gives you the opportunity to connect with your RSS feeds without leaving your homepage.
Both Google options can easily be setup by simply signing up for a Google account. Once you have a Gmail account, you can log in and subscribe to as many RSS feeds as you would like from any website or blog. Just choose the Google option for your feed, then choose whether you would like to send the feed to Google Reader or iGoogle. The feed will then appear in whichever option you choose and you can organize it accordingly.
But both of the previously mentioned options are only available online. What do you do if you want a reader that works offline? For someone like me that manages multiple Gmail accounts at one time, it is very difficult to use Google Reader since I have to constantly sign in and out of accounts to view the feeds. Because of this reason, I use an offline reader to manage all of my feeds, meaning I have an application that runs on my desktop to receive all of my feeds in real-time. There are many different readers with similar functionality, but I have found FeedDemon to be one of the better offline readers. It works in the same was as Google Reader, but you do not have to sign in to your account to view your feeds. Just import a feed and organize it the same way you would Google Reader.
Using RSS feeds is the first step in organizing your information online, but using the right reader will determine how efficiently you can absorb the information. Since all of these tools are free I would recommend trying them all out to get a feel for what works the best for your lifestyle.
