My thoughts on RSS feeds...

I have really come to appreciate RSS feeds. I started using a news reader about a year ago and after this exercise want to start using it even more. I started my exploration into this technology when I was curious about the RSS symbols on the sides of certain web pages. Soon, I started seeing them all over the place. I asked a few of my "tech savvy" friends about them and even some of them couldn't really explain, so I started searching on the internet. I started playing around with the Google Reader in my gmail account, but didn't really do much with it at first.

I didn't really start using a news reader until a few months ago when I got a flyer for a website that interested me. When I visited the site I realized it was a blog and I wanted to be sure I would remember to come back to read it. About the same time a friend of mine told me about her blog where she posts recipes. I had always enjoyed the dishes she brought from home to eat for lunch, so I definitely wanted to keep an eye on this blog as well. I finally started using my Google Reader regularly. I just didn't know any other way to keep track of these blogs.

After doing this exercise and using Bloglines.com I have realized that I can follow more than just blogs and after doing some exploration, I will definitely expand my subscriptions. So far, I prefer using my Google Reader news reader over Bloglines. One of the main reasons is that I am on my iGoogle page all the time, and I have a widget on the page that shows me a snap shot of new posts. It is helpful to have that little reminder to have me visit the reader. Since it is not yet a daily habit, I like to have the visual cue.

I have mostly been using the news reader and RSS feeds to help me stay current with my non-professional interests; but once I find some blogs and feeds related to educational issues, I'm sure it will help me stay current in my field. This tool is a great time saver. I look forward to finding some great new blogs, sites and podcasts to follow.