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"When Google killed its RSS app Google Reader, it appeared to have taken a dislike to the whole concept of RSS feeds, removing them from its Google Alerts service - saved searches whose results are automatically sent to you. With the RSS option gone, the only option remaining was to have alerts emailed instead. Now, with no announcement, the RSS feed option has returned. Google's explanation at the time didn't make much sense to me. It seemed to effectively be arguing that RSS was an out-dated delivery system, but its replacement was … email? No matter, it's back now. Simply sign into Google Alerts and select Feed from the delivery pull-down."

"gRSShopper is a personal web environment that combines resource aggregation, a personal dataspace, and personal publishing. It allows you to organize your online content any way you want to, to import content - your own or others' - from remote sites, to remix and repurpose it, and to distribute it as RSS, web pages, JSON data, or RSS feeds."

"Below, we collect some "rules" we've derived from these features and from other pieces on the Times site, along with links and related activities we hope writers at any stage will find fun or useful - or both."

"For those who can crack the top 20 percent, there is great promise. Most people in that elite group, Rank told me, will spend at least part of their careers among the truly affluent, earning more than $250,000 a year. For those at work in the much larger pool, there will be falling or stagnant wages and far greater uncertainty. A college degree is an advantage, but it no longer offers any guarantee, especially for those who graduate from lower-ranked for-profit schools."

NewsBlur is a personal news reader bringing people together to talk about the world

"Google announced today that it'll be closing Google Reader's doors on July 1st of this year, meaning you'll need to find a new way to get your news fix. Here's how to export all your feeds and put them into a new reader."

It's official: Samsung has announced the Galaxy S4 Zoom, the most powerful smartphone-camera hybrid on the market today. Check out its front side, and you'll see a device very similar to a Galaxy S4 Mini. It has a 4.3-inch qHD display, a 1.5GHz dual-core processor, 1.5GB of RAM, 8GB of storage memory (expandable via microSD cards, and a 1.9-megapixel camera. On the back, it's a full-fledged camera, with a 16-megapixel sensor and 10x optical zoom, which is far better than on any other smartphone or smartphone-camera hybrid we've seen.

"Digg today announced that the first public beta of its Google Reader replacement Digg Reader will launch next week. Digg Reader will roll out in phases to allow the team to scale but the team promises that it will be available to everybody by June 26th."

"There's already a lot of research into how we form impressions of people based on facial features alone. We see a picture of someone and almost immediately make an assessment of that person. As much as we know we shouldn't, we judge books by their covers."

it's no coincidence that the death of Google Reader corresponds with the rise of Google's own social networks. As Wired's Christina Bonnington points out, "No matter what Mountain View says about changing user habits, though, both Now and Plus do one thing: They keep you in Google's world." Of course, this is an industry-wide trend. Not just Google, but Facebook, LinkedIn and the other big networks are all gunning to become become true media properties. Just like traditional media outlets-from TV networks to newspapers - the more users they have and the better they hook those users, the more they can charge for ads.

"Google has launched its own Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to teach the general public how to understand surveys, research, and data. Called "Making Sense of Data" and running from March 18 to April 4, the course will be open to the public and, like most MOOCs, will be taught through a series of video lectures, interactive projects, and the support of community TAs."

"Faculty and students at UC Davis, meanwhile, are developing what they call "hyperlibraries" of faculty writings, homework questions, research and other content available online that are then vetted, and, like a Wikipedia page, constantly expanded and adapted to meet specific needs. The goal is to produce e-textbooks in the chemistry, biology, statistics, math, physics and geology fields - dubbed ChemiWiki, BioWiki, MathWiki, etc. - that eventually will supplant traditional texts, which can cost up to $300 per copy, said UC Davis chemistry professor Delmar Larsen. A pilot study of the ChemWiki last spring found that students in a general chemistry class who used the online materials would have spent about $125,000 had they bought new textbooks, Larsen said."

"Gmail is one of the most popular email services with more than 500 million users, so chances are pretty good that you're one of them. But are you making the most of your email account? Many of us complain that our inboxes are too full and that responding to email is too time-consuming, but several tools are available that will streamline your email experience. Take a look at these 10 plugins--most of which are free. They might just make your inbox a friendlier place to visit:"