RSS is a fabulous thing.
Admittedly I have not really used it, except for small tests and learning experiences, as I don't want to set up meaningless feeds I never look at. But once I have a little more spare time to get into a new in depth project, be it work or hobby, I hope to use RSS feeds to allow me to channel information directly from interesting sites to me. Therefor some of these RSS optimisation tools look very useful.
The one negative I see is that just in the time since the Library 2.1 website was created a few of the tools they link to have become defunct. I wonder how stable these tools will be long-term and how worth it it is to set up complex RSS feed setups through, for example Feed Rinse, one of the tools which is still available from their list.
Also Feed Rinse has become free, though not defunct, it makes me wonder whether it is in the process of becoming defunct. If they are still viable, how they are making their money? One of the comments I heard a while ago in relation to Facebook and other sites is 'If you are not the consumer you are the commodity' and that stuck with me. If I am giving this company alot of info about me and my interests, but no cash, who are they selling my info to in order to make a profit? (I don't mean to sound paranoid or self important you understand, I just believe marketing people want general info about everyone, in order to better sell product)
Paranoia aside, I really should set up some RSS feeds, if nothing else theres some web comics I keep forgetting to check :)
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Absorbing half a presentation through Slideshare.
Well, slideshare was unexpectedly interesting.
Exploring Slideshare, I expected to see a number of presentations that made little sense without a presenter adding to them. In reality I was pleasantly surprised.
Sure there were slideshows that made little sense and obviously needed the talk to work. But I found a number of interesting slideshows which gave explanatory info on the cards and left me feeling like I had learned something. Indeed I had to stop myself from getting engrossed in ideas and browsing the web for more info.
I will definitely keep slideshare in mine when searching for info on work/industry/research topics. The fact that they seem to generally be created by professionals/experts in a field for education seems to mean there is a higher level of information and the slide format, allowing me to progress at my on pace and take in bitesized concepts seems to work for me better than many vodcasts even. It is particularly good as I feel I can go research something I see in one of the slides before finishing the set, without feeling I am ruining the flow.
I would also look at uploading my own presentations if I happen to feel like my information is interesting and different enough.
Exploring Slideshare, I expected to see a number of presentations that made little sense without a presenter adding to them. In reality I was pleasantly surprised.
Sure there were slideshows that made little sense and obviously needed the talk to work. But I found a number of interesting slideshows which gave explanatory info on the cards and left me feeling like I had learned something. Indeed I had to stop myself from getting engrossed in ideas and browsing the web for more info.
I will definitely keep slideshare in mine when searching for info on work/industry/research topics. The fact that they seem to generally be created by professionals/experts in a field for education seems to mean there is a higher level of information and the slide format, allowing me to progress at my on pace and take in bitesized concepts seems to work for me better than many vodcasts even. It is particularly good as I feel I can go research something I see in one of the slides before finishing the set, without feeling I am ruining the flow.
I would also look at uploading my own presentations if I happen to feel like my information is interesting and different enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)