My first experience with feed readers was in 2003. I thought it was the greatest thing to RSS (Rich Site Summary) all the information about soccer, agriculture, and architectural design in one spot, without me having to search the websites themselves or subscribe to a website that would inundate my email with nonwork-related items.
LOSS OF SERVICE
Through the years Google stopped providing its RSS services and with the popularity of Facebook and Twitter, I let go of RSS services altogether because I got much of the info I needed on social media services like Facebook and Twitter. However, I am currently experiencing an inundation of political rants that are burying the things I care for deep in the feed. Pinterest has helped with getting the latest on gardening, home life, and dog training, but I am still juggling many websites and apps. So I have revisited the exploration of feed readers and got started by reading Volvoski’s (2018) article about feed reader apps.
BLOGLOVIN'
The Bloglovin’ feed reader attracted me because it was described as “the Pinterest” of feed readers. As I explored it, I was asked about my interest, and it was easy to click through their preset topics. Next, I was able to browse through blogs in different categories. I found new blogs and if they did not have a blog I wanted to follow, I was easily able to click the “add blog” feature. I did have to go to the website to grab the URL before it could be imported. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to add my personal blog, Not Just Books. They did require that I copy and paste a code to be able to claim it.
BLOG SAMPLING
Another aspect that I like is the ability to interact with blogs as I do with social media. The blogs have a “love” feature, that shows your interaction and also allows for adding comments. As I read through the feed suggestions, the YA Bibliophile blog piqued my interest. Because I still read young adult (YA) literature, the book reviews from this blog will allow me to select my next summer read. Along the same lines is The Booklist Reader blog that highlights book trends, author interviews, and the latest trends in library services. I merrily clicked the follow button on the Good Comics for Kids blog because it highlights graphic novels on all spectrums of children’s literature. I also decided to follow the AASL (American Association of School Librarians) blog to keep me up to speed on all things related to librarians. The last blog I want to highlight is one that keeps me up to speed with technology, the Class Tech Tips blog.
TYPES OF FEED READERS
While I was able to select blogs to follow, and I am happy with the ease of use, I am aware that there are other RSS feed readers. While I will not delve into specific ones, they fall into two categories, traditional and full-text readers. Traditional blog readers displace content in reverse chronological order and do not allow users to explore other content. Full-text blog readers give users the option to display a full article or a preview of it. Finally, many RSS reader apps allow for content to be placed in one spot from multiple websites by following them. Some even allow the user to organize content into meaningful categories.
ALL IN ONE PLACE
Now that I have revisited RSS feed readers and started using Bloglovin’s free service, I feel like the things I want to know more about or keep abreast of are all in one place. Over time, I will add things that not only keep me in the know regarding library services and education but also integrate blogs of other hobbies that have value in my life, and not have to stress about the heavy political turmoil that currently plagues my social media sites.
You can also follow me on Tumblr at readingleo.tumblr.com. I wish you well if you decide to use a feed reader.
References
[web log]. http://aasl.ala.org/aaslblog.
[web log]. http://booklistreader.com/author/kaite-stover.
Burns, M. [web log]. http://classtechtips.com/.
Heidi. [web log]. https://yabibliophile.com/.
Moreno, L. [web log]. https://leonm78207.wixsite.com/website/blog
School Library Journal. [web log]. http://blogs.slj.com/goodcomicsforkids/.
Volvogski, V. (2018, September 21). The 10 best free RSS reader apps: Follow your favorite blogs, sites, and feeds for free. Zapier. https://zapier.com/blog/best-rss-feed-reader-apps/
Comments