RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and is essentially a news feed of all your favourite websites. Rather than checking the website on a regular basis to look for updates, RSS allows all of the updates from users favourite websites to be shown on one simple webpage. Websites can be added in a three different ways. The first method of adding a website to ones RSS feed is to search using a keyword. This is effective if you have a specific subject you are looking for, or want to find the website but do not know the URL. Another method for adding a website to the RSS feed is to go to the website using its URL. Many websites have a RSS tab you can click on to add it. Many browsers these days also have a RSS tab in the address bar, making it even easier to add your favourite websites. Another option for finding and adding RSS feeds is to use subscriptions or recomendations. When signing up for Google Reader, a number of recommended feeds was given. Going through these options provided a number of sites to follow. The only downside was the time it took sorting through the uninteresting sites.
Using an RSS feed is a lot easier than visiting sites daily to see what is new. Since some websites update their site inconsistently, it allows users to only pay attention when something is new. This saves time rereading old stories.
I don't think that I would personally use an RSS feed, especially on a daily basis. It seems like a great idea if there were a number of sites that I was reading on a regular basis, however I tend to read only a handful of sites, and not often enough to be worried about missing something. Rather than taking the time to go to the RSS reader, I could check out half dozen webpages themselves.
A web based aggregator may be better to use because it would not use up as much hard disk memory, and could be accessed from any computer with internet access.
Overall I found RSS to be interesting, and useful to some people, just not myself.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Twitter - #whatisit
Twitter is a social networking website used to update people about your thoughts, actions and to advertise for events or products. Users have an account where they are able to “tweet” in 140 characters or less. This “tweet” is then displayed on the home page of anyone “following” that user. Users can follow anyone that has a twitter account, so it is great for following celebrities and other important people or companies. Users can mention other users in their “tweet” and can set trends by placing a hashmark (#) in front of a word or phrase.
Twitter is different from blogging in that users can only post up to 140 characters, making it perfect for short updates, but impractical for longer in depth posts. It is also different in that Twitter users can follow one another, keeping users updated on the thoughts and actions of others.
Follow me! @mattmurray2
Blogging - What's it all about?
Blogger is a website that makes it easy to create and edit a personal blog. It is quick and easy to figure out, while still allowing for some creativity. In order to start the process, all one needs is a Google account and 10 minutes of time. Different background layouts are available, such as the ability to add various “Gadgets” such as lists, welcome messages, stats and advertisements. Overall, Blogger is a very user friendly website.
One of the blogs that I looked at before starting my own was one started by a co-worker. He, along with a friend, is doing something they have called the “Great Canadian Ascent”, where they travel from the lowest point in Canada (Atlantic Ocean) to the highest point (Mount Logan) in order to raise money for Free the Children. The blog is used to update the public on how the project is going, and once the trek begins it will show their progress. http://www.greatcanadianascent.ca/The_Great_Canadian_Ascent/GCA_Blog/GCA_Blog.html
Another blog I checked out before creating my own, was one analyzing and discussing matches in the 2011 Rugby World Cup, currently taking place in New Zealand. The blog discusses the majority of the games, specifically the important matches. This is useful if you do not have access to a TV or are unable to watch the games for whatever reason.
Blogging is an excellent tool for everyone to share their thoughts, news and keep people updated on their lives, or important parts of their life. It is useful because anyone with access to the internet can create a blog, as demonstrated in this assignment. More traditional formats, such as newspapers or magazines, require expensive publishing equipment and need to be distributed to everyone interested in order to be effective. There is also the environmental impact of the paper used in these traditional formats.
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