I believe RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is one of those technologies many people see, but few know how to use. The beauty of this technology is that you don't need to understand it, you can just start using it. Google Reader is the first free, web-based RSS reader I know of. You can sign in with your Google account and add RSS subscriptions.

This is where all those RSS links you see on websites come in to play. For example, the RSS Feed link on the home page of this site is for ctrl+clicking (right-clicking) only. You copy that link and paste it into the Add Subscription field in Google Reader. This can be done with any website that has an RSS feed available.

So why do this? The benefit is that you don't have to scour the web for new content. All of this content will come to you in Reader. As you can see on the left, I've added the RSS feeds of several websites, so I get all the latest updates without bouncing around from site to site.

The only hang-up I have with this application is the same one I have with Gmail and everything else Google Makes (except Picasa): fabulous functionality with clunky presentation. I do like the blue RSS icon overlay they made, but everything else has that goofy Google look to it. I am pleased to see they have folder functionality with Reader. I continue to hope that this feature will be added to Gmail's labelling system.

This application has made it into my Bookmark Toolbar, which is a rather high honor. A fringe benefit is that you can delete many of your favorites because Reader will link to those sites for you. Pulling in parts of the web to one place is a tremendous convenience. Give Reader a try and add my RSS feed while you're at it. Your subscriptions will be available on any computer anywhere in the world.