Thing 10 : Social Reading

Coincidentally I helped a colleague with a current awareness workshop before looking at Thing 10, so it was very well-timed! I already use RSS feeds and have been using Google Reader for a few years. I started when I was studying for my MA as it helped me keep up to date with current information in topics I was interested in. However as Google Reader is closing in July I’ve been looking at alternatives. There has been a lot written on Twitter and elsewhere about other RSS aggregators, and initially I only looked at Feedly and The Old Reader. Although they both look similar to GR, I think Feedly has an advantage at the moment as is has an app, so I can have all my feeds on my smartphone as well as my desktop. Plus it’s visually attractive! However while exploring this thing I also looked at Pulse, Flipboard and Newsblur. I discounted the later immediately as you have to pay for extra sites. Pulse and Flipboard are both visually appealing. However because I don’t like the desk top version of Pulse and Flipboard doesn’t have one, I think Feedly will be the app I use. It's very easy to import existing feeds from GR and add new ones. The only problem I found was that some Twitter feeds I was following don't seem to be updating. If anyone knows how to remedy this I'd like to know!

I last wrote about RSS in 2011 for 23 Things for Professional Development. At the time I said I was more likely to use Twitter for current information and although I do try and remember to check GR/Feedly this hasn’t really changed. However now I have Feedly on my smartphone I will try to make an effort to use that more.

Thing 4: Current awareness - Twitter, RSS and Pushnote

Some thoughts on Twitter, Google Reader and Pushnote

Twitter

Initially I didn’t see the point of Twitter and wondered what all the fuss was about; why would I want to know what some celebrity had for breakfast? Nevertheless, to satisfy my curiosity I joined in February 2009.  Gradually I began to use it more, mostly lurking and not tweeting myself. Subsequently I decided to write about Web 2.0 for my Masters dissertation and set up a work Twitter as an experiment.  I wanted to gauge how we could use it to communicate with our students. It was slow to take off, but I think it’s been quite successful.  However most of the time I’m on my own Twitter @Chrissie72.  I like the idea of a ‘profersonal’ approach, so I don’t tend to separate work and non-work tweets. Thanks to this programme, I’m hoping to use it more as a professional tool to follow and communicate with other library folks. Don’t think that’ll stop me from tweeting rubbish though! 

Personally I love Twitter and find it addictive but manageable: I use lists and hashtags to cope with information overload. I think it helps me keep up to date and I feel that I’m more likely to find useful information via Twitter.

Google Reader

I’ve probably used Google Reader for a year or two. Again I started to use this while studying; the idea was that I could keep up to date with Library and work related stuff without having to look at loads of websites.  I was quite good at first and checked it every day, but I feel I’ve let it slip a bit now. Maybe I have too many feeds; I always think I can go back and look at the important stuff later, but never do. Plus I’m more likely to read something I’ve seen on Twitter than Google Reader; it just feels more immediate to me. Maybe I just haven’t worked out how to use it efficiently yet…

Pushnote

I’m not too impressed with Pushnote so far. I’ve had a bit of a play with it but not sure that I see the point of it. If anyone can convince me otherwise, feel free…