I don't think that there is a single day that goes by where I don't wake up and check Google Reader for the latest updates from my favourite sites and blogs. The upside to getting updates via RSS are immediately recognizable: you never miss an update and updates from all of your sites are collected into one, convenient location. The only time a wrench is thrown into this is when sites make changes to their RSS feeds, temporarily knocking out service or duplicating posts you've already read, or when you are away from the internet for a few days and end up with hundreds of new updates. Some sites also don't provide you with the full content of their posts; instead they provide a "digest" version that requires you to click through to see the full content. This is mostly done to ensure that more traffic is driven to the site, especially if they gain revenue this way.
There are a few ways to add feeds to Google Reader. First, you can add feeds by searching for the one you want or directly adding the address through the "add a subscription" dialogue on the sidebar. Google Reader also provides a "Browse for Stuff" tab that provides bundles of popular feeds and can show you feeds that your contacts are subscribed to. Most sites that support RSS will also provide a link to their feed on their site, which will usually being you to a dialogue giving you a variety of different subscription options to choose from, including Google Reader.
To be honest, I don't really see much of a difference between using a web-based RSS reader vs a desktop one. It all comes down to the features that the desktop client provides, such as access to embedded video and other additional content. Also, in the case of digest feeds, many desktop clients will need to be used in conjunction with a browser to view the full post. I suppose that desktop versions do provide an advantage in allowing caching feed content for offline reading (a feature Google Reader used to support), but this would only really be of use in a select few cases, given the ubiquity of the internet and the rise of smartphones.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Twitter is not a blog. It is often referred to as a micro-blog service, which covers its role as an information sharing service. Many people mistakenly believe that Twitter is a social network, which may be how it was originally intended, but is not what it has evolved into today. Twitter's main use this day and age is the propagation of information. It allows corporations and governments to send information out quickly and easily to the people who use their services, as well as giving them a very public way of responding to concerns and criticisms. It brings, for better or worse, authors (a large portion of twitter users) and other creators in closer community with their fans. Communities organize around it, protests a facilitated by it, and it - along with Facebook - played a substantial role in organizing and making public the events of the "Arab Spring".
The difference between Twitter and regular blogging is the fact that it limits each post to 140 characters, which isn't a whole lot. There are some Twitter clients that support larger posts, but they do so by providing a link to the rest of the content, hosted somewhere on their servers. Generally speaking, if you want to say more than you can than in 140 characters then it is advisable to use twitter in conjunction with a blogging service and provide a link to the the longer post, with a short description of the post. Twitter is built on what has been described as a "link economy", that is, the connection between pieces of information and the way they are shared through hyperlinks and Twitter's #hashtag system.
The difference between Twitter and regular blogging is the fact that it limits each post to 140 characters, which isn't a whole lot. There are some Twitter clients that support larger posts, but they do so by providing a link to the rest of the content, hosted somewhere on their servers. Generally speaking, if you want to say more than you can than in 140 characters then it is advisable to use twitter in conjunction with a blogging service and provide a link to the the longer post, with a short description of the post. Twitter is built on what has been described as a "link economy", that is, the connection between pieces of information and the way they are shared through hyperlinks and Twitter's #hashtag system.
Blogs and Blogger
Full disclosure: I've been using Blogger for years.
This puts me into a fun position though, as I have been able see Blogger's evolution into the powerful, and yet surprisingly simple, blogging platform it is today.
The key to Blogger is its simple, minimalist style, which is even stronger in the beta version of web application. Setting up a new blog is straightforward and easy: select a name for for the blog, a .blogspot address, and a template to start. Blogger offers a wide selection of basic templates, all of which can be deeply customized using their template designer. Or, if you are the more hands on type, Blogger allows you to use your own custom HTML and CSS.
Posting to Blogger is also really simple. The publisher, in keeping with the rest of Blogger's design, is clean and easy, with both familiar word processing controls and HTML. This allows you to embed everything from images and videos, to widgets and forms. Almost anything you and put into a regular website can be embedded into a Blogger post.
Blogger offers many other features advanced user might find useful. It has built in analytics for users who want to watch where their traffic is coming from, and options to monetize their blog with ads relevant to their content. Writing about books? Google has recently partnered with Amazon to create an associate program whereby purchases made through links to products can net some profit to the blogger.
For personal blogs and more, Blogger is a great choice of platform.
Three blogs I follow on a daily basis are io9, Put This On, and the Tor blog. io9 keeps me up to date on sci-fi news, as well as hosting an active community of science fiction and fantasy fans. Put This On is a men's style blog and web series that discusses the basics of men's style and offers suggestions on how to achieve a look that is both fashionable and timeless, disregarding trends and fluctuations in style. The Tor blog provides me with information on upcoming releases, as well as information other posts related to information on the publishing business and its workings.
Blogging is taking on an increasing role in the way people take in information, which has its ups and downs. Blogging is much more flexible than traditional print media in that it can get the latest news stories out as soon as they break. While this can result in some credibility issues when further fact finding and corrections prove facts to be as otherwise stated, or sources are not as reliable as they may have made themselves out to be, blogs are also more willing to admit that they were wrong and issue corrections and updates to their stories. It is a young form of journalism, but it offers much in variety and growth.
This puts me into a fun position though, as I have been able see Blogger's evolution into the powerful, and yet surprisingly simple, blogging platform it is today.
The key to Blogger is its simple, minimalist style, which is even stronger in the beta version of web application. Setting up a new blog is straightforward and easy: select a name for for the blog, a .blogspot address, and a template to start. Blogger offers a wide selection of basic templates, all of which can be deeply customized using their template designer. Or, if you are the more hands on type, Blogger allows you to use your own custom HTML and CSS.
Posting to Blogger is also really simple. The publisher, in keeping with the rest of Blogger's design, is clean and easy, with both familiar word processing controls and HTML. This allows you to embed everything from images and videos, to widgets and forms. Almost anything you and put into a regular website can be embedded into a Blogger post.
Blogger offers many other features advanced user might find useful. It has built in analytics for users who want to watch where their traffic is coming from, and options to monetize their blog with ads relevant to their content. Writing about books? Google has recently partnered with Amazon to create an associate program whereby purchases made through links to products can net some profit to the blogger.
For personal blogs and more, Blogger is a great choice of platform.
Three blogs I follow on a daily basis are io9, Put This On, and the Tor blog. io9 keeps me up to date on sci-fi news, as well as hosting an active community of science fiction and fantasy fans. Put This On is a men's style blog and web series that discusses the basics of men's style and offers suggestions on how to achieve a look that is both fashionable and timeless, disregarding trends and fluctuations in style. The Tor blog provides me with information on upcoming releases, as well as information other posts related to information on the publishing business and its workings.
Blogging is taking on an increasing role in the way people take in information, which has its ups and downs. Blogging is much more flexible than traditional print media in that it can get the latest news stories out as soon as they break. While this can result in some credibility issues when further fact finding and corrections prove facts to be as otherwise stated, or sources are not as reliable as they may have made themselves out to be, blogs are also more willing to admit that they were wrong and issue corrections and updates to their stories. It is a young form of journalism, but it offers much in variety and growth.
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