Thing 4: Current Awareness

I actually feel like this is something I'm pretty good at. I do think, however, it's easy to fall into a rut where you just check the same sites every day, and are hearing the same viewpoint over and over. That said, whenever there is a list of "Cool People to Follow on Twitter" related to libraries or technology in education, I always check the list to see if I can find someone new to follow.

Twitter: I've been on Twitter for what feels like forever, but may be about 2 years. At first it was difficult for me to get into it as I felt a little lost trying to find people. Once I figured it out, however, it absolutely changed my online life. Twitter is where I go for information about everything. I use it mostly for professional purposes, but I also pursue some of my other interests (sports, cooking, politics) on Twitter. I don't actually post very much - but I'm going to work on that. :) One feature of Twitter that I am just beginning to really explore are lists. I really like the idea of having similar people and feeds in one place. I love that I can put someone in a list, but not follow them. Sometimes I do not want to read all of a person's or organization's updates live. Creating a list gives me a little more control and cuts down on clutter.

RSS: I thought I was over RSS. The reader I tried was awkward, and it wasn't fun - it was overwhelming. But then I tried again with my last "Things" program. I tried several - Netvibes, iGoogle, and Google Reader. Netvibes did not work at school (Curses!) and I do not care for the format of iGoogle. Which left me with Google Reader. I can happily say that I am, once again, an RSS user, albeit a much more selective one. I will follow (or put on a list) pretty much anyone who looks remotely interesting on Twitter, but I am much more selective with my RSS feeds. If I add a blog to my RSS feed, it is because I want to take the time to read whatever the person or group has to say. Many times people say they can't keep up with their RSS feeds - and sometimes I feel that pressure to skim, too. However, for the most part, if I see a post that interests me on my RSS feed, I will make a conscious effort to read the entire thing, which, as we all know, can be difficult online with so much information clamoring to be glanced at. :)

Pushnote: Ok, I confess: I did not play with this. Maybe I will in the future, but for now it doesn't seem like a tool I need.