RSS feeds completely revolutionized my daily Internet experience a few years ago. At that time I started using Bloglines to keep track of all the sites I had spent hours clicking on (yes, I do mean hours every day, I am that big of a nerd) from my bookmarks folder. It was amazing, everything was there! Every video, photo & word that I could see at the person's website was brought right to me & I could get to my reader anywhere, on any computer!! This was the start of a beautiful friendship.
I have now ditched Bloglines in favor of Google Reader, mainly because for a few months Bloglines wasn't loading properly for me, but also because I like the integration of Reader with other Google tools that I use. It was extremely easy to make the transition & I'm pretty well pleased that I have. There are always pros & cons to be considered & there were things I loved about Bloglines that are absent from GR, but overall I'm glad I made the switch.
Now, what do I use feeds for? Welllll, every person's web experience is personal & unique, so it feels strange sharing what I choose to
Here are some highlights from my GR account:
Fashion - Fashionist
Food - Tastespotting
Gardening - Skippy's Vegetable Garden
Library Stuff - iLibrarian
Simple Living - Simple Green Frugal Co-Op
Tiny Houses - Tiny House Blog (one can dream...yes, I am serious. Just ask the Library Fashionista!)
TV - Hulu links to my favorite shows (curious? I bet you are.)
Not to mention uncategorized favorites, like: BoingBoing, Craft, Lifehacker, LolCats & local places, like: The Yarn Lounge, Byrd House Market, or my neighborhood news.
Right now, I have 213 subscriptions on Google Reader. That is 213 different websites that I would otherwise have to click on 1 at a time, then try to find where I left off the last time I was there or get irritated because they hadn't updated since the last time I was there, thus wasting a click ("Clicks as currency" - the next big thing.) This may seem like a crazy number, and I don't deny that it could be, but many of these feeds I just breeze through (like Tastespotting & Foodgawker), while others I take my time with (down to earth or The Simple Dollar). It's all about balance.
The other day, a friend asked me what I did before the internet, to which I replied "Books." Although it seems as though the internet has been around for most of my life, I do remember a time when I relied on archaic tools like "The Yellow Pages" for most of my information. And I do still love books for information (just look at my list of checkouts...on second thought, don't), but online is where I choose to do much of my hunting & gathering. The wealth of shared knowledge & experience is overwhelming, yet intimate, endless, but approachable.
Another long post! Ack! Apparently there needs to be a Cliffs' Notes version for my blog. This is why I try to compensate with amusing videos. Is it working yet?
Yes, she is totally serious about the Tiny House. Crazy, but serious. I offered her my shed to live in but for some reason she turned that down.
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