What every CPA firm needs to know

One of the most interesting new technologies on the Internet is blogs. The number of blogs has mushroomed from a dozen or so available in 1999. A blog (short for Web log) is a listing of journal entries in reverse chronological order. Blogs typically consist of commentary by the blogger that accompanies links to other blogs or online resources. Most bloggers use self-publishing software that enables them to update the content regularly and easily. Rich Site Summary (RSS) is designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. This form of XML (extensible Markup Language) separately codes each piece of data, such as a headline for a story description. Bloglines, (www.ttoglims.com), is a Web-based RSS aggregation service. It is an excellent RSS aggregator because it is simple and easy to use. Bloglines includes a feature called My Feeds, which allows one to subscribe to RSS feeds of personal choice. It is easier than ever to learn about new technologies because even the mainline financial press covers tech stories. The Wall Street Journal, in particular, has done a great job of covering new technologies for non-geeks.