So, now finally I have almost achieved RSS zen by cutting down the list. Here's what I did:
1. Reduce the number of tech blogs on my list
I had found out about most tech blogs on my list via guest/shared posts on Lifehacker and MakeUseOf and had started following them. Soon, I was mostly just getting the same information from multiple sources. Unproductive. I traced the route back and have now unsubscribed from most tech blogs but these two and a few other favourites.
2. Unsubscribe from blogs that would look good on a list, but weren't getting read
Having realized that some of the blogs on my list weren't actually getting read, I unsubscribed. The names are stuck in my memory well enough to guarantee an occasional visit to the web log itself.
3. Refer to stats for starred items
I use starred items mostly to bookmark posts that I will keep wanting to come back to. Looking at the blogs with the least starred items gave me a good idea of which ones I don't want to follow.
4. Split followed blogs across platforms
Unbelievably for me, I now follow mental_floss only on Twitter. Likewise, TED.com and IBNLive are only on my Facebook pages list. This actually helps, and makes reading more interesting because now I don't have to read all my posts with the same UI.
5. Keep Reader for "forgettable" blogs
I might miss a tweet or Facebook update, but it's hard to just not notice an unread item in Reader, so I've made sure that smaller or low-frequency blogs stay on.
Reader's unread posts counts had become a scary number. With # 4 and 5, that number's smaller, without a change in the amount of information I'm fed.
I have now effectively come down to a few tens of posts everyday, which can be easily navigated through in under an hour, and many more posts get actually read now. :)
(This post was typed in Bend, a text editor worth at least a test drive. For now I'm keeping it for concurrent use with Q10.)
