So I believe I've mastered iGoogle and Google reader and I've decided that I like them both - although I prefer iGoogle over Google reader.
I searched for feeds (and gadgets) to add to them Friday afternoon and was able to find some good ones. On my reader account I have several blogs created for 23 Things, headlines from the Washington Post (national, political, and metro), the BBC, NPR, and Google. I also found several literary feeds - Washington Post's Book World, NPR's Books, NPR's Authors, and the London Review of Books. I searched for education and museum feeds, and there wasn't very much out there. The US Department of Education has a feed, as well as the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and several other smaller museums. Reader is simple and clean; there are no images, nor ads. It was very easy to use and very streamlined.
iGoogle I really enjoyed because not only can you have feeds (with images), but you can also add gadgets to your page. As of now I have news, weather, date/time, Art of the Day, Quotes of the Day, a reciepe feed, and a turtle gadget. myVCU is set up the same way as iGoogle, so I already had a passing familiarity with it. iGoogle is also very easy to use, streamline, and free of ads. I enjoy iGoogle because it includes an element of fun or irreverence - which really appeals to me. Because you can add gadgets you can really create a unique portal that reflects your personal style or sense of the world. You can also add page themes (I kept the classic view).
I can see a value in perhaps creating a feed - if there is a damand for it, then a feed would be a great way to get the news out about our upcoming events. We already use the calendar function on MySpace and the events notification on Facebook, and I know we have eNews, but all three have limited distribution. MySpace and Facebook only notify users on those sites, and eNews is only sent out once a month. If we created a feed, could it be accessed on portals like myVCU or iGoogle automatically? Or do you have to register with those sites? Are there enough events, announcements, and news to warrent a feed at all?
I also noticed the RSS symbol on my I.E. window, how does explorer fit into all this?
More questions to ponder.
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I invite you to take a look at Colonial Williamsburg's RSS feeds. They have used web 2.0 tech so well, and RSS feeds is just one example. Any update to their site, i.e. online journal articles, events, news, educational packets, etc. feeds into RSS. I would love to know everytime new content is added to our site. You have no idea how embarrassing it is to be at reference and someone calls about something on the site that I haven't seen. I also think the e newletter, journal, take a closer look, myspace blog, events, and history notes would be prime candidates for RSS feeds.
Dude, thanks for your thoughts and for participating. You're a Rock star!!
I'll have to totally check out the Williamsburg feed then. After I feed my turtles of course.
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