How to consume a lot of internet in a little time

A question I get asked a lot about blogs and social media is "how the heck do you find time to read all that crazy bloggedy blog stuff?"

Well, A) I'm a big nerd and look at the internet many, many hours a week when I could be exercising or learning Spanish or something. and B) I use Google Reader.

If you are overwhelmed with content - your browser is clogged with bookmarks and you forgot to type in the the URL of that hilarious kitten blog your daughter told you about - you should try Google Reader. It organizes posts from all the things you want to read into one easy-to-use website, making reading many blogs, social media sites, and even newspapers an hour or so commitment per day.

How to get started and ideas on what to read after the jump.


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Google Reader uses RSS feeds to bring you content so you don't have to go get it. An RSS feed is like a subscription to the content of a website - there are RSS feeds to almost any web content - news organizations, trade publications, Craigslist postings, social media tools and blogs (like this one). This terrific Common Craft video explains it very well:



So you went to Google Reader and signed up. Now what to subscribe to? Here are some ideas:

• Newspapers you already read every day have RSS feeds - not only for news articles, but you can also choose to just subscribe to your favorite subject or columnist (or sports team). Here are pages of RSS feeds for Chicago papers: Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun-Times, Crain's Chicago Business.
• Chicago's got a healthy blog and social news scene. Chicagoist, Gapers Block, and Windy Citizen are good daily reads for absorbing the local Internet zeitgeist. Chi-Town Daily News and EveryBlock can help you stay up to speed on Chicago's neighborhood news.
• You can even get an RSS feed to a Google search, like "Great Lakes restoration," "TIF District," or "Hugh McMullen." Just do a Google News Search for your subject and click "RSS" in the lefthand column.

Remember, if you find a blog or website you like in your Internet travels, just find the little orange RSS button and click on it to add it to your Reader and you won't have to remember to go back. When you get really savvy, you'll be sharing and organizing your feeds and items like a real Internet nerd.

I know what your first subscription will be. Any other feeds to suggest?