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.