Saturday, January 31, 2009
Thought it kind of cool that the SEMTEC website came up when I did a search for it in Google Reader. The internet is an amazing place!
23 Things Part 3 - RSS
I have used some RSS Aggregators in the past, through sites like My Yahoo, and through the RSS reader built-in to the Mozilla email client, Thunderbird. I hadn't tried the full web-based aggregators like bloglines or Google Reader before. Since I already have a Google account, I tried Google Reader.
What I liked best about this aggregator (and I assume Bloglines is similar) is the search function that allows me to put in a topic of interest, or even a known RSS source, and find it within the aggregator itself. That's handy. I didn't have to go out to sites that I was interested in to find their RSS feed subscription buttons. That ease of use to bring in the RSS feeds makes it a much better tool than what I previously experienced (though, to be honest, I hadn't explored the possible search capabilities within Thunderbird or the aggregator widget in My Yahoo. They might be there as well).
I see both positives and negatives to RSS. The obvious positives include the easy ability to scan through the various feeds from sites and sources that are of interest. There isn't a need to go from site to site to get the information, or to go to a site over and over waiting for new news to come from it. When there's something new, you get it delivered to you automatically.
The drawback - though this is a tad nitpicky - is that it becomes, I think, ever easier to surround yourself in news, posts and information that is tuned to your existing beliefs and opinions. It becomes easy - despite our Informational Age - to never see an opinion that differs from your own. You don't like the thoughts from a poster anymore? Well, just unsubscribe, and you no longer have to deal with that narrow-minded idiot! And you no longer have to have your thoughts challenged either. Now, this is nitpicky because we have always had the ability to do this, even with the internet out of the picture. Magazine subscriptions, Newspaper section preferences, and the choosing of our friends are all choices that we have always made. Don't like a certain columnist in the newspaper? Well, you don't read that column anymore! So ths RSS negative really isn't the fault of RSS. It all lies in the choices we make.
What I liked best about this aggregator (and I assume Bloglines is similar) is the search function that allows me to put in a topic of interest, or even a known RSS source, and find it within the aggregator itself. That's handy. I didn't have to go out to sites that I was interested in to find their RSS feed subscription buttons. That ease of use to bring in the RSS feeds makes it a much better tool than what I previously experienced (though, to be honest, I hadn't explored the possible search capabilities within Thunderbird or the aggregator widget in My Yahoo. They might be there as well).
I see both positives and negatives to RSS. The obvious positives include the easy ability to scan through the various feeds from sites and sources that are of interest. There isn't a need to go from site to site to get the information, or to go to a site over and over waiting for new news to come from it. When there's something new, you get it delivered to you automatically.
The drawback - though this is a tad nitpicky - is that it becomes, I think, ever easier to surround yourself in news, posts and information that is tuned to your existing beliefs and opinions. It becomes easy - despite our Informational Age - to never see an opinion that differs from your own. You don't like the thoughts from a poster anymore? Well, just unsubscribe, and you no longer have to deal with that narrow-minded idiot! And you no longer have to have your thoughts challenged either. Now, this is nitpicky because we have always had the ability to do this, even with the internet out of the picture. Magazine subscriptions, Newspaper section preferences, and the choosing of our friends are all choices that we have always made. Don't like a certain columnist in the newspaper? Well, you don't read that column anymore! So ths RSS negative really isn't the fault of RSS. It all lies in the choices we make.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Part 2 - "Library 2.0"
It's been awhile since the first post. It's amazing how time can make a complete mess out of goals and intentions! But that, at least, is one of the priceless benefits of the 23 Things program: the ability to move through the pieces at your own pace with no time limit!
The concept of "Library 2.0" is an interesting one. The concept of keeping our libraries relevant actually is somewhat disturbing. How could such a wonderful resource like our libraries ever become irrelevant? But then one stops and thinks about how much time one spends in a library: and compared to the bygone school days, it isn't very much. Our family goes to the library every so often, but not to do what I used to commonly go to the library to do: research. Research the maps and information for a trip, for example. I spent quite a bit of time at the library researching maps and books at the library for a trip to Yellowstone that I planed for my wife and I (in our BK - Before Kids - days) along with three other couples and their families. The library also had at that time (this would be 1994-1995) CDs with road maps and the ability to chart the route and give time estimates. Capabilities that were wonderful, and free, and something I sure didn't have at home yet because we didn't own a computer at that time. Now, such capabilities are as easy as heading to something like Google Maps on my laptop without having to leave my house! Computers finding their way into the majorit yof homes, affordable high-speed bandwidth, Search Engines, and the ever-expanding increase of reliable information available on the web (such as real-time maps of ships moving through the English Channel, or maps the shipwrecks that lie beneath those waters) are making the libraries less and less of a research destination.
So, the challenge of libraries is to find ways to keep their place in our cities and towns. It sounds as if many libraries are morphing into a community center. A place to go hang out with friends and do fun things (like meet for chess club, or have video game tournaments), plus a place to browse books. But even browsing has changed with books available in formats only dreamed about in SciFi stories only a generation ago. From an IT professional's viewpoint I find it interseting to note the opinion that IT can no longer be done completely behind the scenes anymore. It has become forefront. If not in the spotlight, it's certainly right there on stage with the stars who are. That does change how IT has to be handled. We can't be the people in the back rooms with no people skills anymore. We have to be dynamic and engaging and thoughtful and "user-friendly" more than ever before.
Whatever the future holds for libraries, I certainly hope it means that the resources they can provide will continue to be available for the people that they serve.
By the way. I also now want to learn more about Viddler.com. What a cool site with some really cool potential for things like Tech Training, Tech How Tos and other staff development possibilites (and this is without mentioning the things it could be used for in the classroom!)
The concept of "Library 2.0" is an interesting one. The concept of keeping our libraries relevant actually is somewhat disturbing. How could such a wonderful resource like our libraries ever become irrelevant? But then one stops and thinks about how much time one spends in a library: and compared to the bygone school days, it isn't very much. Our family goes to the library every so often, but not to do what I used to commonly go to the library to do: research. Research the maps and information for a trip, for example. I spent quite a bit of time at the library researching maps and books at the library for a trip to Yellowstone that I planed for my wife and I (in our BK - Before Kids - days) along with three other couples and their families. The library also had at that time (this would be 1994-1995) CDs with road maps and the ability to chart the route and give time estimates. Capabilities that were wonderful, and free, and something I sure didn't have at home yet because we didn't own a computer at that time. Now, such capabilities are as easy as heading to something like Google Maps on my laptop without having to leave my house! Computers finding their way into the majorit yof homes, affordable high-speed bandwidth, Search Engines, and the ever-expanding increase of reliable information available on the web (such as real-time maps of ships moving through the English Channel, or maps the shipwrecks that lie beneath those waters) are making the libraries less and less of a research destination.
So, the challenge of libraries is to find ways to keep their place in our cities and towns. It sounds as if many libraries are morphing into a community center. A place to go hang out with friends and do fun things (like meet for chess club, or have video game tournaments), plus a place to browse books. But even browsing has changed with books available in formats only dreamed about in SciFi stories only a generation ago. From an IT professional's viewpoint I find it interseting to note the opinion that IT can no longer be done completely behind the scenes anymore. It has become forefront. If not in the spotlight, it's certainly right there on stage with the stars who are. That does change how IT has to be handled. We can't be the people in the back rooms with no people skills anymore. We have to be dynamic and engaging and thoughtful and "user-friendly" more than ever before.
Whatever the future holds for libraries, I certainly hope it means that the resources they can provide will continue to be available for the people that they serve.
By the way. I also now want to learn more about Viddler.com. What a cool site with some really cool potential for things like Tech Training, Tech How Tos and other staff development possibilites (and this is without mentioning the things it could be used for in the classroom!)
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