Palimpsest: How do you manage your RSS feeds?

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How do you manage your RSS feeds?

Tuesday, January 06, 2009 — posted by Sheila Loring

How do you manage your RSS feeds?

Over the past few years, I've subscribed to 90 RSS feeds, many of which I (currently) read on a regular basis. Google Reader is my reader of choice. This reader makes it easy to organize feeds by topic. All of my news blogs are grouped under Current Events. Beauty and fashion are filed under Frivolity. Art and photography are considered Self Expression...and so forth.

Some feeds are only skim worthy, while others I read word-for-word. Still, 90 feeds is really more than I can realistically keep up with. The question of which feeds to unsubscribe from plagues me. How long does one subscribe to a feed before deciding it's not worthwhile?

The decision can be compared to investing, when you drop a mutual fund after a few years of consistent losses. But with feeds, I allot a few months to judge the quality of the content and how often the author contributes. My feeds typically provide practical learning experiences. That sounds boring, but it's not really. Gryphon Journals addresses topics of interest to technical communicators -- analyzing product documentation for usability, improving your writing, and so on. Gen X Finance provides advice for achieving financial independence. I don't read a lot of fluff, except for the few filed under Frivolity!

Some feeds are from consultants or individuals selling products and services. I weed out those that don't have substantial content. Gretchen Rubin promotes her book on The Happiness Project, but I always learn something from her posts. (See Tips for getting your sweetheart to do chores—without nagging.) On the other hand, many corporate blogs are pure marketing tools and don't provide any practical content. I usually don't bother with those unless I just want to keep up with the company's activities.

Here are a few more of my daily must-reads:

I'd Rather Be Writing: Trends in technical communication from Tom Johnson.
WorkLifeLove: Holly Hoffman's views on building relationships, working effectively, and basically living life.
Mind Hacks: Tips for using your brain!
Conversation Agent: Valeria Maltonis' advice for optimizing your social network -- from marketing with Twitter to writing effective blog entries.
Dr. Macro's XML Rants: Eliot Kimber's lessons learned in XML and associated technologies -- XSLT, technical publishing, Java, etc.
Digital Photography School: Product reviews, lessons in digital photography, and tips for managing and sharing photos.

What are your favorite feeds, and how do you prevent them from getting out of control?

Labels: blogs, RSS feeds, thirst for knowledge