If you read several blogs and do not already use an aggregation service, you should consider doing so. Over the holidays (yes, they do seem like a long time ago), I tried a couple (for example, FeedDemon). I decided to use Bloglines.com, a web-based service instead of client software locally.
My decision to use Bloglines was based on a couple of factors. First, I found that FeedDemon and other local software had more features than I needed or wanted. Second, I already run so many applications and have so many icons in my task tray that I was not thrilled about yet one more (and yes, I do have 512 meg of RAM). And third, I liked the idea of a web-based service since it means I’d have access to my list of blogs from any PC, not just my own.
I have been very happy with Bloglines. The interface to set up “subscriptions” and folder them is not quite as crisp as it might be, but once I figured that out, it was easy sailing. Now I find it very easy to keep up with multiple blogs from a single, easy-to-use interface. Though I have yet to use it, Bloglines has another interesting feature: you can create an e-mail address for use in subscribing to listservs or e-mail newsletters. I imagine this is helpful for content and spam management. Next time I find a new service to which I want to subscribe, I will use Bloglines. Eventually, I may try to move over other regular e-mail alerts to it.
My only reservation is that I don’t understand the business model of the company. It’s free and there are no ads. After the dot-com boom, that makes me very suspicious. I would not be happy if the company started running ads, but I’d most likely be willing to pay a modest monthly charge to use the service.
PS – shortly after posting the above, a friend just let me know that he could not automatically subscribe to my blog using the auto-detect feature. The work around for this is to copy the RSS 2.0 link (right click on link and select “Copy Shortcut”) and paste the URL into the subscription box on bloglines.