RSS feeds and what to do with them, or, Lex makes your blogreading life easier
In my first post I mentioned that I had an RSS feed for this blog lying around somewhere. Turns out I had two, and thanks to N-R.com's Stephen Paschall, they're now active. If you look down near the bottom of the page, you'll see two links labeled "RSS 1.0" and "RSS 2.0."
Fascinating, you're thinking, but how is this going to make my life better? Like this: With an RSS newsreader, you can be notified automatically whenever this blog, or any other with an RSS feed to which you subscribe, is updated. No checking back frantically every couple of hours, desperate for another fix of the bloggy goodness that is The Lex Files -- when it's hot 'n' fresh, your RSS newsreader will tell you.
Well, you're thinking, where do I get one? I don't know, but I know how to find out: Google the phrase "free RSS newsreader." Oh, here, never mind, I'll do it for you.. If you don't want to download a program, you can get a free account to use the Web-based news aggregator at Bloglines to keep track of your blogs and indicate when they've got fresh posts.
Once you've installed your program or opened your Bloglines account, that's where the RSS feeds come in. Right-click on one or the other, then click "Copy Shortcut" and paste that link into the appropriate place in the program or Bloglines screen to subscribe to The Lex Files. And you're done!
Either way -- program or Bloglines -- you can keep an eye on your favorite blogs and know when fresh posts are up. Now, tell me, am I making your life easier or what?
