I read

lots and lots of web pages daily. It is an addiction that I have a hard time figuring out if I even want to shake or not. One of the tools that has made this slightly easier and (maybe) less time consuming is Google Reader. This is what is known as an RSS reader. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary and basically acts as an index for a web page's content. So when you see that little orange icon () in the corner of most web pages, it means that you can subscribe to that web page using a reader program, therefore letting you know when someone has updated a web page without having to check up on it every five minutes. You can even get notified of new content straight up "You've Got Mail" style.

Bloglines is a very popular alternative to Google.

You can do a wide variety of things with RSS.

Some of the blogs I subscribe to on Google Reader include:

Lifehacker (RSS)
Instructables (RSS)
MAKE Magazine (RSS)
Craigslist Free Section (RSS)
Cool Tools (RSS)
I Will Teach You to Be Rich (RSS)