There are millions and millions of web pages and blogs out there.  And, just like cable TV…with that much info, some of it has got to be good.  But how do you sort out the junk from the gold?  Answer – A RSS aggregator.

RSS stands for "Real Simple Syndication."  It is a method that web sites use to send out their information to you vs. having you come to their site for the information.  (Using our vernacular…RSS makes the web incarnational.)  The aggregator then takes the information sent to you and organizes it in a way that is easy to read.

There are several good ones that you can use for free.  Google has a new reader out that seems really good.  (http://www.google.com/reader)  All of the large Internet Portals have RSS Agregation functions built in as well.  (my.yahoo.com, MSN, AOL, EXCITE, etc)


The one I use is Bloglines.  Bloglines is easy and free.  There is a small script you can install that makes viewing content a snap.  After installing that script (it is automatic!) If you are on web site you like, pull down a menu on your web browser and click subscribe with Bloglines.  Then, every time you log into your Bloglines page you get all the info from the wite you have subscribed to.  It is that easy!

The aggregators keep track of what you have or have not read yet…so all you will get when you look at is new content.  There are also ways to clip/mark something you read and want to go back and read again.  Marked content will show up next to new content.  Old stuff you did not care for…never seen again!

I just recently switched web browsers to Firefox from IE and they have much of this functionality built in.  I will provide a link at end you can use should you choose to give it a try.  (It is even easier with Firefox and the Google Tool Bar!)

An aggregator is a must if you want to sort through large amounts of information quickly.  That’s why an aggregator is in the Smart Pastor’s toolbox.

After you are up and running, come on back and click on one of the links on the right under the heading, "Subscribe to Smart Pastor." 

For more information you can see a previous post I did on using Bloglines and RSS.