P(rf)oductivity: have you had your daily dose of brog?

I'm sure a lot of you have at least heard of RSS. So two things: 1) isn't it awesome? and 2) why aren't you using it already? (Note: If you didn't understand any of that, you will in the next 3 minutes...)

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication", but who cares who it stands for. It's an excellent method that makes you aware of updates on a website. There was a time when the internet was just a wee series of tubes, and you had to actively click your bookmarks to see what's new with the site. Now, you can be updated when it gets updated. Neato torpedo.

Keep reading to learn how to keep the brog on your radar...

You'll need to decide on an RSS reader for this to work. Luckily for you, there's a ton out there to choose from, and even I haven't gone about and hunted around for the best one. So I'll introduce to you three methods: 1) Firefox bookmark, 2) Google Reader, 3) email client.

1) When you're using Firefox and you go to a site that has an RSS feed, you'll see the classic RSS icon in the right end of the location bar. It looks like orange radio waves. Go ahead and click it, then click "Subscribe to ______" Oh hay, it even lets you choose which app you want to subscribe with. If you use Firefox's Live Bookmark system, the bookmark itself will be a clickable menu that expands into the latest posts. Try it out.

2) Blogspot is integrated with Google Reader, so this route makes some sense. Assuming you have a Gmail account, you can go to reader.google.com and subscribe to the blog you're following. You'll need the feed url, which you can often find on a well-designed blog by looking for that orange radio icon. Here's ours:

http://brog-about-it.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Because iGoogle is my homepage, Google Reader integrates well into my routine. Open Firefox, KEEEYAAAHHHHH, there's my news.

3) If you think about it, RSS feeds act a lot like emails. Emails like those classic Facebook notifications. But instead of seeing "[cute guy] has tagged you in [unflattering photos]", you can see "SPOTTED: efung brogs again!!". Anyway, alongside Google Reader, I use Mail.app that comes with OS X. File->Add RSS Feeds. What could be easier?

RSS is so widespread that everyone wants to jump on it, since it's compatible with Thunderbird or Outlook. And if you're using any other mail program, wtf mang. (Sorry, mutt users)



So there you have it. Show your support for the brog! Post more comments or become a royar forrower--check out the bar on the right. Or at the very least, you can still follow us in silence and anonymity. Stalker.

Feed URL: http://brog-about-it.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss