I went into Google Reader and subscribed to different types of news and blogs. It seems like a really useful way to keep up on whatever type of news you're interested in without having to search different sites every day, but my main concern is that I would quickly become overwhelmed by the amount of news. I would personally be more likely to use it occasionally, like if I wanted to follow a specific news topic for a short period.

This course exceeded my expectations on every level, and I am so happy to have been a part of it. I have learned so much! Reflecting on the experience has made me realize just how much information I have absorbed over the past few weeks. I could go on and on, but it wouldn't be very structured, so here are my answers to the questions posed by the 5weeks creators:

Favorite Experiences:

• Webcasts (once I got all the technology glitches worked out on my old computer - easy solution was to just buy a new one!). I particularly enjoyed the webcast on flickr given by Steve and Michael - they were so much fun!
• Weekly online chats - I really got used to the dynamic of online chatting (which I had never done before) and learned what it takes to communicate effectively in that medium.
• Variety of sources of information - podcasts, online readings, screencasts - all were effective in their own ways and got me used to using them.
• Reading other peoples blogs and profiles and meeting such great people!
• Looking at the other 5weeks members Flickr photos

Technology most useful to me:

Learning about del.icio.us was one of the most important aspects of this class for me. And watching Jason Griffey's webcast  (Make Your Library del.icio.us) just brought it home even more. I have already posted a blog about how RSS has changed my life forever, but every day I am reminded about how cool RSS really is and how incredibly useful tools like del.icio.us can be for libraries. One of the first points Jason made was that del.icio.us was FAST & EASY - and this is a huge selling point for both patrons and other librarians and administrators. Tying it in with what we learned about selling social software, Jason's webcast gives lots and lots of ways to sell this social software tool.

Michele Mizejewski's webcast, Getting up to Speed with RSS Webfeeds actually makes RSS seem pretty easy. I liked that she not only explained what RSS is, she gives a link to find out more details about the process, and then takes us through the process in Bloglines. She provides really easy to understand instructions, great screenshots to demonstrate what she's talking about, and excellent examles of libraries who have RSS feeds.

Overall, my opinion of RSS has changed. I am not as afraid of it, can definitely spot it, and can start compiling feeds in Bloglines. There's nothing like seeing all of the html of an RSS feed and knowing what information is useful.

During the week when we covered these topics, I had the opportunity to meet with a number of librarians at a Montana Library Association meeting where these actual topics were under discussion.  So  I am a little late in my posting on RSS/Social Bookmarking/Tagging , but I've had some time to think about them and try them out, too.

 I think RSS is a natural for librarians.  We are already helping our patrons in many ways to negotiate the vast and ever-expanding information landscape on the Web.  Putting links to selected RSS feeds on the library website is another smart way to deliver librarian-evaluated content to patrons, it's a valuable service.

The part of the course I have been least enthusiastic about has probably been RSS.  I've been playing with them some and I think I see their value but they don't seem to do much for me.  I guess I like going to the sites I want/need to read and don't need a feed reader site to check.  Or maybe I'm just afraid that if I read all the sites that might be of interest, I'd never get anything done?  I can see the value of a library provided a feed from its site though.  I guess it would be another way of "meeting users where they are".

Recently, on the web4lib listserv, there was a discussion surrounding preferred RSS feed desktop aggregators. If some of you aren't into the online ones, this discussion might be useful to you. See http://lists.webjunction.org/wjlists/web4lib/2007-March/043150.html for more information (you need to move your way through the discussion thread).

Reegan

Oh goody, finally something that might be immediately useful for my library.

I know we're focusing on wikis right now, but i'm furiously trying to max out my collection development requests and realizing how useful it would be to get "pushed" new titles in my subject areas via RSS feeds.  This is the group to ask: does anyone know of sites that have feeds where i can "customize" my feed requests by subject? or even not customize but just see new titles as they are coming out? Happy for any suggestions...or places to look. Thanks. I'm still new to collection development, and haven't had the time to explore the best tools, which I know are out there...

I've noticed several posts about people having trouble getting the other folks in their libraries to use some of the fun technology that is being discussed. Sometimes it's best to work things in slowly.

In that spirit, did you know that you can send RSS feeds to email? I use RSSfwd (http://www.rssfwd.com/) on my blogs, but there are a few others. You enter the feed or blog URL, then your email address. RSSfwd will also provide a link that sends people to the "subscribe" page where they can enter their address. New posts (links, stories, etc.) will be delivered in plain text email with hyperlinks.