News Feeds and Search Tools

Hey, this is really cool!!! Tonight, I was focusing upon Activity 9, jumping into the various news feeds and blogs by using the Bloglines Search Tool, Feedster, Topix, Syndic8 and Technorati. I have tried them all, but couldn't decide on a preferable tool. They all have their strengths.
Through Bloglines, for example, I searched "adult literacy" and discovered two pertinent blogs. I am now a subscriber to both. One of the blogs has been set up as a homework page for adult learners in British Columbia. In the near future, we will be able to set up similar "feeds" for our students -- and for literacy practitioners in the OSNGUPL system -- to access. The other adult literacy blog is also from BC, posted by a fellow literacy practitioner.
Feedster casts a large web of feeds, blogs and podcasts. It could definitely use an "Education" channel in addition to Entertainment, Technology, et al. The search results are timely and there is a useful search tutorial under the help menu.
I found Topix to be unique in that it lists "local" news if you input your community into the title bar. News from the local media is fed into this site automatically. Some of this news, however, is really out of date. Overall, I liked Topix's layout and found it to be user-friendly.
Syndic8 couldn't match Feedster's search results, but I liked the way in which each feed, or blog, was presented with details on the web link, url, etc. There is also a useful description included for each found feed.
Technorati is a blog searcher with many fine features. One of these features is the ability to claim your blog by registering it with Technorati. (With promises from the search engine to increase your blog's profile.)
I look forward to further investigating the various search tools available for use on the internet. I found this activity to be extremely valuable.