Thursday, February 28, 2008

Thing 3. Set Up an RSS Account & Add Feeds

For anyone who may have previously visited my blog, I have made a few changes. Perhaps the most noticeable change being the absence of the avatar. Not particularly enthralled or impressed with this piece of technology, I have elected to remove the avatar from my blog in favor of creating a singular focus on the photograph of the Mississippi River. To me this photograph is much more reflective of the intended purpose and tone of my blog. Other changes to the site encompassed minor editorial revisions to the blog header and my profile. Disclosing these revisions to readers of my blog represents a feeble attempt to adhere to the "truth in disclosure" dictum, a sentiment currently in vogue given the current bombardment of political ads.



Editorial self-disclosure comments aside, the topic of really simple syndication (RSS) does present dwellers in the Internet world with a number of good options for compiling and organizing news feeds. The ability to consult a single web site to access and peruse sources for current information in a timely and efficient manner while not contributing to the creation of "junk" email is an extremely welcomed technological innovation. RSS is not unlike the selective dissemination of information (SDI) service commonly available as one of the functionalities incorporated into search engines developed to query electronic index/abstract databases. The only distinctions between RSS and SDI are the technological applications being used to identify and alert potential users to the existence of information and research on specific topics. I suspect both RSS and SDI will continue to evolve and remain useful services for busy professionals attempting to budget their time wisely.