The best way to stay up-to-date on your favorite web pages and blogs (like this one) is to subscribe to a free 'feed'. To better understand what this is, here are some basic terms:

1. RSS - This stands for 'Really, Simple, Syndication' or 'Rich Site Summary'.  It is a format for syndicating web content. Think of it as a published edition of your newspaper or magazine (whether it comes out daily, monthly, it doesn't matter). The point is you subscribe to newspapers or magazines in print. Well, on the web you subscribe to new 'editions' of web pages or blogs via a RSS feed.
2. RSS Reader or Aggregator - This is a program that catches those feeds, along the same lines as an email program (Outlook, Hotmail, Gmail, etc) catches your email. So when there is a new post to a blog or an update to a website, the headline is delivered right to your RSS reader. If you are interested in the headline, click on it and read the rest of the story. Think of it as your 'subscription inbox'. There are lots of different readers. Like email programs, some are desktop and some are web-based.
3. See that orange icon to the right? It's a RSS button. That's the most standard way for a website/blog to let the reader know that they have a feed that can be subscribed to. Here at iMomZone you will find my RSS button on the right sidebar and it is even labeled imomzone RSS for you. Many sites also have a RSS button on the upper right hand corner of their pages.

Why subscribe?

• First, it is FREE. Subscriptions as well as most Readers/Aggregators are FREE.
• It is so easy and keeps you up on what your favorite bloggers (like MidLifeMom) are saying.

Why not just bookmark the site or sign up for email updates (if available)?

• Bookmarking tends to be inefficient.  Ask yourself, do you go back on a regular basis and check to see if there is new information on all of those sites you have bookmarked. Blogs tend to be updated multiple times a week or sometimes everyday. Why waste your time going out to the site, when you can get it delivered to you and parked conveniently in your RSS reader. It's the difference between going out and buying the local paper or favorite magazine at the convenience store and having it home delivered.
• Bookmarks tend to be disorganized and hard to find...even for me the queen of organization. 
• Some sites do offer email updates. But the last thing I want is more email cluttering up my inbox. Because the reader is separate from your email program, you can open it up and read the contents when you want to, not when you are checking your email for the latest practice cancellation.

I hope I got you interested in using this amazingly efficient web-tool. For 'how do I subscribe', go to "Subscribing on the Web - Part 2".