Good online reading

When you track down a source of good content online you need the time to enjoy it. After all, you want to feel good and contented, right? Most people would agree that the web can easily be a major distraction drawing you into what others want you to know and do, and away from what you want to do and know. So tools that help you stay focused and give you more time to live your life the way you want to live it are welcome — just so long as they themselves are not a waste of your time.

Even if you happily look around Facebook, tweet around Twitter or, with ninja-like resolve, sniff out the beet and potatoes from amongst the garbage news, gossip and entertainment sites, a feed reader can make you happier. By cutting through the information overload, collecting the content you want to read — fast, easily and efficiently — a feed reader delivers a menu exactly to your taste. Relax and digest the feeds of your choice without annoying interruptions or distractions. Here’s how it works:

• The best websites publish web feeds (a content format)
• A feed update is added whenever a new article is written
• The feeds are then syndicated (ie passed around websites and users with subscriptions)
• To subscribe (free, instant and anonymous) to your favourite content feeds, you need a feed reader
• Most browsers have in-built or add-on feed readers, for example:
  • Opera (built-in)
  • Firefox (add-on) eg Feedbro
  • Chrome (add-on) eg Foxish from Chrome store
  • Safari (built-in and add-on) eg Reeder
  • Internet Explorer (built-in or add-on) eg RSS Reader
  • iOS, Android (add-on) eg Feedly
• There are also desktop feed readers, eg Liferea for Linux, QuiteRSS for Windows and Mac
• There are also web-based feed readers, eg Inoreader
• All the above are easy to install, often with one click

Depending on your feed reader, you either enter the url of the website you like or you click an icon when visiting the site. This subscribes you to the feed and, depending on how the site has configured its feed, the feed reader downloads the latest titles, excerpts or full articles immediately. So, at your own convenience and distraction-free, you can click a title of interest and be taken to that post or, in some cases, read the article within your feed reader. The feed reader will regularly download the latest feeds so you’re always up-to-date. Like email, you can of course let the posts accumulate when you’re busy doing other things.

In the footer of this page, you’ll see a feed icon. Click it and see what happens. Without a feed reader, you might see a page of raw data. With one, you’d be subscribed and see a readable list of titles in your feed reader.

Noise annoys, especially when it’s between the ears, and stress can sneak up without us noticing. We can choose to ignore our body’s aches, pains and tension, or we can choose to de-stress and take more control. A feed reader is a useful tool if you like to keep up-to-date with news and info relevant to you, whilst keeping extraneous clutter to a minimum. De-cluttering is an essential part of health and wellness that many people overlook.