I'm guessing I'll have to go to each plugin's site and subscribe to the site's RSS feed...but I thought I'd ask, just in case there's a better way.
This is assuming that I even want to keep the plugins updated...Hey if it's working...why change it...
Typically, I don't. If I use a plugin, and it's working as exptected...it doesn't need updated.
No need to do extra work and risk breaking something if you have it working already.
I don't think that it's a good idea to use plug-ins and never do an update.
For example:
You are using jQuery and a few plug-ins that seem to work all right for this version, you're pleased with the result and decide to stop following the new updates on the used plug-ins.
jQuery does some updates on and after 2 updates you realize that your plug-in stopped working. Ok, you might want to do an update on this plug-in. But it's possible that it stopped working a few weeks before you noticed the errors... I'll bet your visitors aren't very pleased with the malfunctioning website.
Ok, off course there is a smart ass who says that if you don't update your jQuery, your plug-ins will always work. True but the problem there is that jQuery will stop supporting older versions after a while. So i do believe that you try to stay updated on your plug-ins.
What is the best way to do that?
I guess rss, twitter and all those communities keep you up to date in a sufficient way. If not, I just guess you are trying to use to much plug-ins.
I ussualy update plugins following this checklist:
At every site version iteration, I try to keep with the latest stable version of the plugins. If it's an "unstable" (no formal release), I fork to my own server, and merge regularly.
One thing, iterations in this context could mean anything to you. You could consither them to range from a few days/a week to a few months/a year. I'd advice to make faster iterations.