For professionals, the amount of information you process translates directly into how much quality information you can pass on to your clients. However, in today’s world, the required amount of initial data sorting has skyrocketed. In a 2011 study performed by the University of Southern California, researchers found that in 1986, individuals were presented with 40 newspapers’ worth of information each day. Although that seems like a lot, today that number has risen to 174! Filtering this enormous amount of content that passes under our eyes every day can be overwhelming at times, but the use of an RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) feed through platforms such as Google Reader is an easy way to take control and save time. By subscribing to content updates via RSS readers, you can keep up with news and blogs and digest the information on your own schedule.
Although the real-time information flow of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook has driven some traffic away from RSS readers, keeping up with the torrent of real-time information is nearly impossible. Unlike subscribing to website updates via email, RSS feeds allow you to delete your subscription—no questions asked—if you’re no longer interested. This is also beneficial because no email address means there is no way the publisher can try to lure you back in or sell your information to others. Keeping organized while managing to stay on track with all the updates you need throughout the day means freeing up more time to devote to your clients.
