I suppose not everyone in the world yet is sure of what a “reader” or “RSS Feed” is, but damnit – get with the times! (If you already know, just go ahead and skip this post entirely).

For the rest of you, I’m about to teach you how to use an incredibly useful tool that will allow you to really “tune in” to the world(s) you are interested in.

First! Check out this video to avoid reading the paragraph below:

In short a “rss-reader” is an online software that delivers to you and allows you to manage the information that you want.

This information must be in the format of “RSS” which is usually indicated by this:

You may have already been seeing these around and have been wondering what that little orange wave was… This is important, powerful, and useful because it changes the way YOU and information you want to see interact with information on the web.

Before, in your mess of a life, you would have to bookmark each site (or memorize) that you enjoy and periodically check them to make sure you don’t miss something. But, with the power of RSS and readers, the information is delivered the moment it is published, picked up by your reader, and sits eagerly awaiting for you to decide what you want to do with it (read it maybe?).

Anyways, just about every source of information you’d want on the web (blogs, news papers, memorized searches, this blog!) is in this RSS format. Now, the statement that should be burning in your mind should be:

“I need a reader so bad I want to cry.”

To get you started, lets just use Google’s Reader application – It’s simple, clean, and easy to use:

Go here: Reader.google.com

Once all logged in, click the “Add subscription” button on the left.

Type in a website that you frequently visit or read. [Hint - www.evadingmediocrity.com]

Google Reader will automatically figure out where the RSS feed is on the site and grab the last 10 articles, posts, or updates from it.

There you go! Go ahead and add more and enjoy your new-found, zen-like awareness of all things. Try it out and let us know what you think!