Beating blog information overload with news aggregators

Dennis Kennedy, a widely recognized expert on the application of technology in the practice of law and a truly great guy, has an excellent post about how astute blog readers use aggregators to be beat information overload.

As a result, you will find yourself better informed and more in control of the information tidal wave in which we now live. I have been looking for a tool that will produce these results for many years. News aggregators have dramatically changed the way I deal with information, especially developments that affect my practice, in a manner that is extremely positive, productive, and, I hope, profitable. I definitely encourage you to take a test drive with these new tools and technologies. They will help you where you need it on a daily basis and give you a greater sense of control, and that’s something all of us can use.

Though the post is from an article written by Dennis over two years ago, it’s still right on in explaining RSS feeds and news aggregators (or news readers) in plain language. Read the full post but here’s the highlights.

What you get with aggregators

• Know that the information is there (Alert).
• Quickly determine what it is (Headline).
• Quickly scan or get the gist of the information (Excerpt or Summary).
• Read the full article if we are interested (Full Text).
• Deal with the information ‑ typically act on it, move it on, delete it or file it (Take Action).

Benefits of aggregators and newsfeeds

• You do not have to visit each source site individually. Once you find a site with a feed and subscribe to the feed via my aggregator, you get the information the site feeds without taking affirmative steps to visit the site.
• You can review new information from a large number of sites in a short time.
• You can sort my feeds into groups categorized by subject matter.
• You can add and delete feeds easily.
• Because you receive information via feeds in a highly useful manner, you can deal with information easily and efficiently.

Dennis, you are the king of producing content that empowers lawyers and law firms with down to earth practical information. Keep it up.