Is Google Reader more important than the Pope?

So this week, in comparison to weeks gone by, I feel as though I was thrown in to the deep end. I have started exploring RSS feeds, something that I have heard of in the past but I have never really taken the time to explore. To be honest RSS has been something that I have been a little daunted by because I thought that it was something quite complex. 

However, after watching a YouTube clip from rssday along with reading the other information provided on the site I discovered that in essence it was a quite simple yet genius concept. I think that it is so logical to get access to news, blogs and other regularly changing web content on one page. It saves you time by not having to go to each blog you enjoy reading or go from news source to news source. 

After I understood the basic concept of RSS feeds I thought I’d do a bit of Googling on the topic to get a more in depth understanding. But I then found myself with a question. With the impending demise of Google Reader is there a use for RSS outside a select group of people? Is RSS nothing but an out dated tool? I seemed to stumble across such conflicting arguments over and over again. A simple Google search will lead you to articles such as Google Reader’s Death Is Proof That RSS Always Suffered From Lack Of Consumer Appeal. This article indicates that RSS is not for the ‘normal internet user’ a notion which is supported by  the likes of MG Siegler as seen in the tweet below

Who is going to tell the normal people that RSS is dead?Wait.Who is going to explain to normal people what RSS was?
— MG Siegler (@parislemon) March 14, 2013

(Tweet from https://twitter.com/parislemon/status/311992206716203008)

So what’s the point of using a tool that many people don’t know about? This is where my confusion lies. Apparently Google is killing off Google Reader because of user numbers declining. However, if there is such as disinterest in Google Reader and a lack of understanding of RSS feeds how come, as indicated by Crikey, the highest trending topic on Twitter was Google Reader? Higher than the election of Pope Francis which happened at the same time? I mean we all know how popular and media driven the Papal election is.

So this is where I come to the relevance of RSS feeds in an information management context. From reading comments on articles such as Google kills Reader - another nail in the coffin of RSS I found that there is still a use for RSS. I found that RSS readers are used as alternatives to Twitter and Facebook, especially in workplaces that have prevented access to these social networking tools. It allows people to “keep on top of whats going on”. Then there are people who use RSS readers everyday as a “daily playground”.  This leads me to believe that the information management profession can still benefit and utalise RSS. Libraries can create feeds about things such as online catalogues, trading hours, events and programs much like they do on Twitter (they may even use an RSS feed of their Twitter account such as the Geelong Library does). And while it may not be the ‘normal internet user’ who utilises this service, people who need an alternative or just love RSS might.

 

Exploring One Billion Graves….

Along with Twitter, this week I joined and contributed to the collaborative resource BillionGraves.com. As someone who is interested in genealogy I thought that this would be an interesting website to explore as I had never come across it before. 

It is marketed as a resource that allows you to ‘Help Make Family History Available to Everyone’ through photographing and transcribing grave stones. Members can either take GPS-tagged photos of graves using their smartphone with the BillionGraves app or transcribe graves. While I am unsure about how easy it is to take photos and upload them I found that transcribing graves was relatively easy due to the user friendly interface.  However, the issue that I was faced with was that I continually came across images that were illegible. While you have the option to report these images I found it annoying that I had to do this on numerous occasions. Another thing I found a little odd was that despite there being around 6 000 images to transcribe if I skipped an image it would appear again a few images later.

Nevertheless, I think that this is a good way to preserve images of graves and allow amateur genealogists to contribute to a resource. I think an issue that librarians can face is they have to direct patrons to multiple resources for their genealogical research. BillionGraves has the potential to reduce this need as librarians can direct patrons to this one resource. However, for the time being this is not really possible as there is a lot of focus on graves in America while other countries seem to be a little neglected. Only time will tell whether this resource will become truly beneficial or not.

Kevin Rudd follows me on Twitter...

So this week I finally got a Twitter account and I have to say I have mixed opinions about it.

In terms of personal use I feel the same way as I do about Facebook. I do not find it necessary to nor feel comfortable broadcasting my life online. If I want someone to know something I will either message them or talk to them face to face. While I do not find it necessary to tweet myself, I think that it is amazing I can follow famous people. It is as though you are one of their ‘friends’. Isn’t it amazing that I don’t care if one of my real friends is eating at a certain restaurant but if it is my favourite footballer then it is news I want to know. 

On a more practical level Twitter can be highly useful. One of the first organisations I began to follow was V/Line Geelong. This allows me to keep track of train delays and changes to services. I think that using Twitter in this way to keep followers up to date in real time is a major advantage. This could be applied to an information management context to provide followers with information about events and other important news happening in a library like seen in the @GeelongLibrary tweets below. 

Screenshot from https://twitter.com/geelonglibrary

Another way in which Twitter could be used in an information management context is using it to aid in project management. Stakeholders could be kept informed as to the progress of the project via a tweet rather than a lengthy email. It could also be used as a method to involve followers in the project via brainstorming. Patrons could tweet ideas about a new service a library is planning to implement. 

On a lighter note, I recently discovered I have a new follower on Twitter. It is the former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd (apparently it is him because it has the Twitter verified tick of approval)! However, after discovering this I feel pressured to write more intellectual tweets and less on my mundane life.

my first blog entry

Hi everyone!

My name is Katherine and welcome to my first blog entry. 

In the past I have had a chance to briefly look at Web 2.0 technology and its impact in relation to linguistics but through this project I am looking to further extend this knowledge to a professional setting. 

In the coming weeks I hope to:

• Extend my knowledge of the tools I have already come across such as Twitter and Google Docs and hopefully find out information and features about them I did not already know  
• I would like to contribute to a collective resource such as BillionGraves 
•  Increase my repertoire of Web 2.0 tools which may benefit me in the future

I think exploring this technology in more detail will be both exciting and beneficial. I am looking forward to the journey which follows and can’t wait to get started.