Summing it Up...

Now as my blogging experience comes to an end (for the moment anyway) I have come to realise that this Create-Communicate-Collaborate project has taught me a lot and has challenged me to go out of my comfort zone. 

Having a look back at the learning goals I set myself at the start of this project, as well as the ones I set in the middle, I think that I accomplished all of them to some degree. I was able to extend my knowledge of Twitter beyond what I already knew but I did not do so for Google Docs/Drive. I think that I did not accomplish this part of my learning goal because I devoted my time to learning about RSS feeds, something which I hadn’t looked at before. I also contributed to a collective resource, however, since completing my post on BillionGraves I have not gone to the site since. This may be due to the rapid pace we have gone through different Web 2.0 tools meaning that I just had the chance to learn about one tool before having to learn about the next. Another thing I have learnt is how valuable a mobile phone is these days. I was able to keep up with Twitter and write blog posts and reply to other peoples blogs on the go. It has been fantastic, until I lose reception on the train. 

The main learning goal I feel I have achieved is that I’ve increased my repertoire of Web 2.0 tools which may benefit me in the future. But at the same time I have found that it has been a bit tedious to write a blog post each week. But I think that it has been a valuable experience in itself. I hadn’t written a blog previous to this so I have learnt a lot about blogging too. I have learnt how to change the layout of a blog (only now am I almost happy with the layout of my blog), I have worked out how to embed links and I have learnt that Google can be your best friends, or your worst enemy, when you need to know how to do something.  

An important aspect of this project is that it has further taught me to be resourceful and persistent.  I think that this is an important skill going into the information management industry because as I have learnt technology is an important part of IM and the technology we will be using will not always work and we need to know how to deal with that.

Oh, one last thing. The thing that has annoyed me most about blogging? Proving I am not a robot when replying to other peoples blogs. Does anyone else have trouble reading what the code says?

Well that’s it for me

Goodbye and Good luck with your experiences with Web 2.0

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.