RSS- Really Simple Syndication
I like how simple it was to use Google Reader, since I am already usually Blogger (by Google) and have Gmail (again, Google). What I wasn't expecting was that Google Reader is disappearing by July 1st! Say what?! By the way, even Forbes is mourning it's loss. RIP, Google Reader.
So, searching for newfeeds inside Google Reader was not hard. I found quite a few by searching for "school library." What wasn't as easy was clicking the RSS Feed buttons on all blogs, since even Blogger blogs didn't have always have a Google icon to click on.Technology is wonderful! However, there was an iGoogle icon on the 2.0 Classroom blog and the Ted Talks blog, so I was able to subscribe in that way.
The easiest way I found feeds was using Google Reader's search tool and just typing RSS feed into Google. One of the oddest thing I found in searching for blogs for my personal amusement is the use of the word alligator in the blog title. I collect alligators (not real, folks), so I wanted to see what was out there. Well, a blog called Dressed Up Alligators (is this chick referring to herself as an alligator? Huh?) was sadly not about alligators playing dress up. White Alligator the Movie is also not about an alligator, but about a documentary that explores stereotypes in the world of acting. Bad advertising, folks! My favorite search had to be for the town where I grew up and the photographer I found- Caroline Moore. Just not the same living in Houston with its miles of strip malls when you grew up surrounded by Revolutionary War-era buildings...
What confounded me most was trying to post my public Google Reader URL. Sorry, Google, but you were no help. I was also disappointed to learn of Google Reader's imminent demise, meaning I couldn't just click on a nifty Google icon to subscribe to blogs. Grrr...
I plan to incorporate this into my professional career as a librarian in at least a couple of ways. If I don't have the budget to subscribe to subscriptions like School Library Journal, then clicking on the newsfeed for this resource would save money AND space. By using something besides Google Reader, I could easily subscribe to other librarians and school faculty blogs for ideas and teaching resources for my co-workers. It wouldn't be hard to set up a professionals-only school blog and a RSS feed for the school, chock-full of teaching ideas.
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