A friend just pinged me to ask about technical communication blogs, so I gave her some URLs. As we ended the conversation, she said, "Thanks! I've bookmarked them."

I was going to tell her about RSS feeds and aggregators, and then realized that she'd want to share the information with others...and that I knew several folks myself who could use the information. So rather than send one email, or record one (typed) conversation, I'm addressing it here.

Those of you who subscribe to my blog don't need this information...you're already keeping up in a virtual world ;-) But maybe you, too, know someone who might benefit.

Many blogs (and other sites) include RSS feed buttons (sometimes labelled "RSS", sometimes labelled "XML"). If you click the button, an XML file is displayed. Now, you could read the XML file...but while it's not all that difficult, it's also not something you want to do every day. You want to know when the XML file has changed.

For that, you use an RSS aggregator. The aggregator checks the sites that you are interested in, and lets you know if any of those sites have changed. (It's a lot easier to use the aggregator than to check numerous sites every so often to see if they've changed.)

Dozens of RSS aggregators exist, and most are free. You can use an RSS aggregator that integrates with a browser, or you can visit websites specifically designed to store your information, or you can install a local application. The choice is yours.

For example:

• Firefox includes "Live Bookmarks". If you visit a site that has RSS enabled, a small web feed icon is displayed to the far right of the address field. Click the icon to add the site to your live bookmarks.
• Bloglines is a website where you subscribe to blogs, email groups, and websites (after creating an account). You can blog, collect clippings from other blogs, and share your clippings. Everything is organized on a personal web page.
• The CITA RSS Aggregator is a Windows application that runs in the background. When any watched feeds are updated, a small window is displayed on the screen (you can choose to read the feed then, or tell it to snooze).

I use the CITA RSS Aggregator. I know, I know, it's installed locally, which means that I can't just use any computer to log in and see what's new. However, I never travel without my laptop...and even if it's not turned on, I rarely get the urge to go see which sites have been updated. It works for me, it's unobtrusive, and it lets me create categories for the different types of sites I watch (such as CSS, friends, Microsoft, News, and STC).

The other thing I live about the CITA RSS Aggregator is that I can monitor sites that require a login (such as the STC Forums). I can even post replies to the forum from the aggregator.

It's also easy to add a site feed to the aggregator. In the field above the right pane, type the URL of the site that you want to monitor. An orange bar is displayed across the top of the site if an RSS feed is available. Click the orange bar to add it, assign it to a category, and wait for those updates!

So if you haven't gotten on the RSS bandwagon yet, join us! Keep up with the latest news from the sites that you're interested in, and use the time that you previously spent surfing for other things.