I made a fairly big decision about how I consume online content last week. While I had always used my newsreader .... Google Reader is my aggregator of choice .... traditionally by subscribing to the bloggers and news sites I'm interested in, I've decided to let more of the top content come to me.


Finding "Community Identified" content
First, I reorganized my folders .... I have ones for "Must-Reads", " Tech + Tips", "Search", plus "Government and Healthcare" .... and unsubscribed to the blogs I wasn't really following. And, now, I'm relying more on my network to identify what I should be reading. How so? I've created a folder named, "Community Identified". What's in it?
* Delicious. I've subscribed to a feed that aggregates all the bookmarks identified by my entire network on this social site. (Become part of my network here.) So if you're a part of my network, I will be updated, through RSS, every time you bookmark an item and make it available to your network. I've always subscribed to this feed, only now it's the lead item in this new folder.
* Google Shared Items. Same concept as Delicious, only these are the items identified by those I'm connected to through Google. (Become part of my network here.) I get some great content through this channel, as Google makes it really easy to share articles from the reader itself. So every time you click "share", it reaches my "Friend's Shared Items" folder in Google Reader.
* Social Reader. As explained on their site, "Social Reader reads the public stream of shared urls/stories for the service Google Reader at FriendFeed.com, then after processing, filtres this data to bring out the popular stories." Constantly updated, I'm always in the loop on the most frequently shared items. In fact, Social Reader shows you the number of times an item has been shared, so you always know where the most highly referred links are. While I'm not necessarily connected to anyone to gain this information, I'm allowing the wider social community to identify great reads for me.
* MicroPlaza. This is a new service I just subscribed to (hat tip to Dave Fleet). And it's actually the one Twitter-related app I've been waiting for. Basically, it allows you to "discover relevant and interesting items from the people you follow on Twitter." So, every time someone I follow posts a link to Twitter, I get to see that link in my reader .... and with references from more people than just the individual I follow. So it's not only a great way to discover content, but new people as well. (Follow me on Twitter.)
* Backtype. This is a service that helps you to track comments, yours and other friends', throughout the blogosphere. By allowing you to connect with others and see what they're commenting on, fresh posts are consistently brought to your attention. And, as has become the theme here, you're able to subscribe to a feed that sends you the comments from everyone you're connected to. As a result, you'll start to see which posts are generating a lot of comments and, from there, click through to the post at its original site to comment there yourself. (Connect with me on BackType.)
What's most interesting about this approach is that each feed brings content to your attention in a different way. Delicious and Google Shared items by friends you're directly connected to. Social Reader fills in the cracks by highlighting content from a wider group of people. Micro Plaza through Twitter updates and then validates your contact's link by showing you other people who have shared the same link. And, finally, BackType shows you where your network is inspired to comment, which helps you identify where the truly interesting conversations are.
Following your lead
Now, I'm following your lead. Thanks to the seeds I've planted and the connections I've made on different networks, I'm finding great content and new people to connect with. In addition, because of some overlap between the networks, the best of the best content rises to the top, making it easy to pick the true must-reads every day.
Let me know if you'd like to demonstrate some of these ideas to you. Conversely, if you have some other networks you'd add to this list, let me know. I'd love to hear your thoughts.