Bloglines cited as valuable resource for lawyers

Jim Calloway’s Law Practice Tips Blog cites Bloglines this morning as the site of the week.

Jim faces the same dilemma as I when he speaks to groups about blogs & RSS.

Whenever I mention RSS Newsfeeds, I always see some people’s eyes glaze over or attention start to wander. I can appreciate that as I didn’t immediately ‘get’ RSS either. But this technology has an immense potential as a way for consumers to sort the type of online information that they wish to receive. Blogs produce RSS newsfeeds, allowing one to scan the posts from dozens (or hundreds) of blogs without actually visiting the sites.

The answer per Jim:

To receive RSS newsfeeds, you need a newsreader. There are several free or inexpensive newsreaders, but for the beginner I recommend Bloglines.com, this week’s Website of the Week. Bloglines is free and easy to use. It is browser-based and does not require the installation of any new software on your computer.

And Jim sees both the present and future of RSS:

RSS is rapidly becoming more mainstream and there are more than just blog feeds available. Many information providers now publish RSS newsfeeds, such as CBS News and Sports, CNN, NewsOK.com, Stateline.org, LexisNexis and many others. You can even receive the Dilbert cartoon in your newsreader daily via RSS.  RSS could become as widely used as e-mail and Web browsing.

For those who do not Jim Calloway, he’s Director of the Oklahoma Bar Association’s Management Assistance Program. He frequently writes and speaks on legal technology issues, Internet research, law office management and organization and legal ethics. Jim’s blog is one to have on your short list of RSS feeds.