If you don't use Google Reader, you probably should. While I make no secret of my Google devotion and I await the day when I can drive my Google to the Google to get some Google, Google Reader is worth the time.
If you have a Gmail account, you are half way there (if not, go to www.gmail.com), just click "reader" up at the top and you are directed to the interface. Google Reader allows you to "read" RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds throughout the web. RSS is the little orange speaker icon that you'll see on almost any web page. (You might get RSS or XML instead of the speaker box, or, scroll to the bottom of this blog and you get "subscribe: atom," just another kind of RSS)
All that technical stuff aside and you're left with a way to view things that people are posting to all over the web in one place.
So, what you have to do is capture the address to those "feeds." For example, if you scrolled to the bottom of this page, right clicked on the "Subscribe: Atom" link and chose copy shortcut you have got that address. Then by clicking "Add subscription" in Google Reader you will now get my blog entries much like emails in your Google Reader.
You can do the same thing to the New York Times web site, other blogs, stock news (via Google Finance) for a specific stock, etc. Just a matter of collecting and adding these feeds. Now you don't have to surf all over the place to find the content you like.
The downside to RSS is that a lot of newspaper sites don't post the whole story to RSS, you have to click a link and view via their web site. They need those ad clicks, after all, but at least you know there is new content that you have an interest in.
Google Reader is worth the try, spend time finding feeds and you'll be glad you did. Several feeds I read are listed to the right.
