RSS Feeds, a Top-Ten List

According to a great article I read online called 7-tips-for-writing-a-killer-blogpost-that-actually-gets-read creating lists and bullets points is a great way to get readers attention and interest. Makes sense to me, but what sort of information can I put into a Top-10 List?

When thinking about what I like to do online, (besides checking Facebook) reading articles through my RSS reader came to mind. I love to browse articles and in my attempt to learn as much as I can around me, I’m currently subscribing to 97 separate feeds (but that includes 30 for my social media class) through my Google Reader.

My subscriptions cover a wide variety of topics, and so far, I’ve classified them into 16 different folders. This means I can minimize or maximize the folders, depending on which feeds I feel like reading. Since I have thousands of unread articles to check out, I tend to just click on “All items” so Google can decide what I should read first. In my limited amount of time, and since I tend to have a short attention span for online tasks, it’s perfect! 

Click on the screen shot below to see what my Google Reader looks like.

My Google Reader

Never used an RSS reader? Well if you’re new to the technology, adding content is easy, its deciding what to add thats the difficult part. 

I think the best way to start adding content is by adding feeds your interested in and deciding you want to gain from your reading. For me, it started with wanting to be up-to-date on news and fashion and now it has shifted towards marketing, an industry I’m trying to get in to. Adding subscriptions in your industry (or even subscribing to your own organization or its competitors) feeds is a good way to stay up-to-date on what’s going on at your work, (ie. Avoid looking like an idiot) in case your like me, and didn’t exactly get insider information from your boss. (eg. “What, we’re moving into a new market? When did we decide that??”) And of course, sometimes you just want to look at stuff that will make you laugh after a long day. Nothing wrong with that!

Personally, I have 16 folders, but these could really be narrowed down into 8 or 9 categories.

These are the categories I think everyone should have:

1. News
2. Events/Stuff to do
3. Commentary/Opinion pieces
4. Passion related feeds
5.  Industry of choice feeds
6. Employer/competitors feeds
7. Blogs
8. Random fun stuff
9. Optional - Employment (ie. Job searches)

So if I had to choose only the best, more useful or most entertaining subscriptions in those categories, what would they be? 

Here are my current Top 10 favourite RSS feeds:

1. Huffington Post (News) – The most up-to-date news article and stories from around the world. American, without being too American-y.
2. Mashable! (Industry related) - It seems like they update their content all the time, (how many people work for them? It’s amazing) and they include topical information in a variety of topics, from pop culture to business. Best of all, they often share interesting information and facts using “Infographics”. The best way to get a lot of information quickly. Smart and fun!
3. The Onion (News/Random fun stuff) – Sometimes I read their headlines and forget its not real news. Headlines like 'And Now For A Thrilling Tennis Season,' Nobody In Nation Says are funny, but also give you an idea about what the day’s news stories are.
4. Macleans (News/Commentary/Opinion pieces) – Because everybody needs a little Canadian content! I subscribe to other Canadian news feeds, but besides skimming the headlines, I don’t tend to read them very often. Macleans has some very good editorials, which are actually thought provoking. That’s where I got the glee article from for my last post.
5. The Bloggess (Blog) – Have you heard of her? A hilarious female blogger, who also had an advice column (which recently was discontinued) and sex column and multiple other internet outlets. One of her best articles was called: So I got a box in the mail filled with 80 body parts. A must read.  
6. Fashionista (Passion) – Pretty much what it implies. Who are the The Most Influential People in New York Fashion including those in Marketing and Branding? You will just to have to read to find out!
7. Hacked IRL (Random fun stuff) – Pretty much just a summary of images from WIN and the Fail Blog, because sometimes you just need a no-brainer.
8. eMarketer (Industry related) – A feed I recently added. Interesting mix of social media, pop culture and technology articles.
9. Gizmodo (Industry related) – More based around technology than marketing, it is an interesting mix of the two, and a lot of brand insights.
10. Monster Job Search (Job search) – I think this site is better than www.workopolis.com but I’m undecided. I subscribe to job searches in both.   

What do you think? Any categories I missed? My favourite feeds change all the time, depending on what I'm currently interested in, but I think the categories stay the same.

What are your favourite feeds? I’m always looking to add more!