You know those Nigerian email scams you keep getting? Bill Gates doesn’t need the money, so he’s gonna join with the Nigerian government and do something about them. Actually, sites like this and this indicate there’s a lot more going on here than just some wacky spam in your mailbox. And this is an amazing archive of 540 different scam letters. And when you’re done reading those, take this quiz to find out which Nigerian spammer you are.

According to a Carnegie Corporation study (I’ll have to take the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s word for it, since I can’t find a link to the study itself), the average age of a newspaper reader is now 55.

In a world where people are increasingly getting their news instantly online, where news analysis and commentary comes almost as instantly from countless Web sites, blogs, and wikis, the media landscape’s tolerance for newspapers is constantly decreasing. I can’t imagine that trend reversing direction.

There’s a certain pleasure in reading a newspaper that goes beyond just getting the ball scores or the latest Presidential sound bite. Reading a newspaper is also about the feel of the paper, the sound of turning the pages. It’s interactive (try the Jumble or the crossword puzzle), and it sparks conversation (“Hey, you done with the entertainment section yet?”).

Sadly, the pleasure of reading a newspaper seems to be going the way of penny candy and vinyl record albums. It’s a shame. You can’t pick up and stretch Dilbert’s face by pressing Silly Putty against the computer screen, and it’s not at all convenient to bring the laptop into the bathroom or onto the beach.

“People often remark that I’m pretty lucky. Luck is only important insofar as getting the chance to sell yourself at the right moment. After that, you’ve got to have talent and know how to use it.”
—Frank Sinatra

Yahoo! has added a new feature to their news search: Off to the right, where Google puts their AdWords ads, Yahoo! is providing blog listings alongside conventional Web site search results. It’s an interesting addition, though with Technorati the go-to spot for blog search, wouldn’t “Powered by Technorati” be a great next step for Yahoo!?

If you’re looking to get involved in aggregating RSS feeds and simplifying (a bit) your online information gathering, you might be tempted to try Google Reader. My advice: Try several other options, too.

I’ve been using BlogExpress for a while, and I really like it. I’ve had as many as about 125 feeds in there, and am currently monitoring 82. I transferred all 82 over to Google Reader to give it a test run.

My verdict: BlogExpress remains a clear winner. Google is web-based, which makes it nice to be able to log into my feed reader from any computer. But loading is slow, even on DSL, and moving from feed to feed and skimming new entries is a relatively awkward and time-consuming procedure. I don’t know about you, but I’m looking to do things faster.

Unless you’re a heavy user of Gmail (you can Gmail an item in one click of a drop-down menu) and/or Blogger (you can add an item into your blog with one click of a drop-down menu), I don’t see a whole lot here to make Google Reader a compelling choice.