Well, first of all, I really had to browse through all of the information that I was looking at on the Google Reader page. Initially, I found it overwhelming. I wasn't sure how the various parts fit together. The best orientation for me turned out to be some YouTube videoclips that clearly explained what an RSS feed was and how the Google Reader worked. The video "RSS in Plain English" was excellent as was "Google Reader in Plain English". While browsing through these sites, I also found "Introduction to Google Docs" that gave me a greater understanding and appreciation of what the various components were and how they were different from the traditional documents that we have been creating for ourselves. I highly recommend these YouTube tutorials; they are great. OK. I am digressing so back to the task at hand with these RSS feeds. I know now that RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Yipee! That clears that up for me. I subsribed to several but my favourites were:
1. Good Wines Under $20
2. The Goats do Roam Wine Company- South African Wines ( because I visited this winery in April 2009
3. BBC on this day - Front Page
4. Quote of the day
User friendliness I have already mentioned. The YouTube clips were much more helpful than the Reader site itself. The connection amongst the various sections of the page were clearly explained with visuals.
There is a whole lot here to browse through and enjoy. In fact, once I got into it, I found that time slipped away and before I knew it, it was 12:30 a.m. Yes, I will continue to use it but time is really needed to look through at all of the features. By having these set subscriptions coming in with updated posts on topics that I have selected will certainly save time but I will also need to spend time looking through them for whatever they have to offer.
3 comments:
I'm glad you found the "Creative Craft" videos helpful. Did you watch the one we embedded during wiki week?
Did you by any chance watch "Zombies in Plain English?"
*wink*
Your comment urged me to go to this YouTube video clip. Too funny! Really enjoyed it. Thanks for the hint. I think I can use this clip with my students in a creative writing lesson.
If you're interested in seeing all the videos, products and services offered by Common Craft, click HERE. It is one of my favourite sites. I started using it a few years ago and they never disappoint with a continual stream of new topics explained 'in plain English'. (I hate trying to follow the explanations of 'techies' as I usually get lost in their jargon.)
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