Using Feed Readers

After using feedreader.com for a week, I've seen that RSS feeds can be handy for relaying information from different locations to one place. I liked the fact that you can organize your feeds into different categories, and that it notifies you of how many items you haven't read yet. However, when I tried to log into my feedreader account this morning, an error occurred, which wouldn't allow any of the feeds to load. Though I like the idea of feed readers, I just think that the website is a little unstable. In addition, a lot of websites no longer support RSS feeds, so it's kind of difficult to find pages to subscribe to. 

Page 123 #2: How Companies Use RSS Feeds

This is the article that I found:  http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/business_technology/how_companies_are_benefiting_from_web_20_mckinsey_global_survey_results

 Although the article above states that companies still use RSS feeds to contact their customers and employees, it suggests that they now use websites like Twitter rather than RSS feeds.  In addition, the article suggests that the more "heavily used" technologies companies are now using include blogs, wikis and podcasts in order to keep up to date with their consumers.  I think that companies are shifting away from RSS feeds due to the new websites that keep coming out.

Emerging Technology Pg. 123 -Feed Reader Assignment

So far, I've had trouble with the Feed Reader gadget on Blogger.  I could not find Google Reader, so I used Blogger's feed reader instead.  I went on several sites, but could not find RSS feeds on many of them, so I settled on the entertainment feed from CNN.  I also attempted to follow the entertainment feed from The Huffington Post, but I could not get the link to work with the Feed Reader gadget.  However, I have found that one benefit of using the feed reader gadget, is that it continually keeps you up-to-date on what's happening on the page you've subscribed too.  Another good thing about the feed reader, is that (from what I could tell by trying to set it up), it breaks different feeds off into their own sectors, so that users won't get the feeds mixed up.  One drawback of the RSS feeds on Blogger, is that the Feed Reader does not list the date or hour of publication for the feed items, so users can't tell how up-to-date their feeds are.  Secondly, if a user is not truly interested in every feed item on the page but likes the page as a whole, the feed could list unwanted items on the blog that the user may disagree with. 

Book Reviews and Ways I Waste my Time on YouTube

Over the past two years, I've been an avid reader. I read classics, YA fiction, anything by Nicholas Sparks, etc. In fact, I feel like I've out-nerded myself recently, since I've read six books since Christmas. Anyway, I'm thinking about doing a few book reviews now and then on some of my favorite books. First, I'll start with Wonder by R.J. Palacio.
Though I wasn't aware that Wonder is technically a children's novel when I first started reading it, I thoroughly enjoyed it, because the plot takes on a deeper meaning than most young adult fiction. The book focuses on a fifth-grade boy named Auggie (August) who was born with a rare facial deformity.  Throughout his fifth-grade year, Auggie struggles to fit in at his new school, as other children continually avoid him due to his condition.  Wonder pulled at my heartstrings time and time again as Auggie faced brutal mistreatment by others, just because of the way he looks.  Palacio also references Star Wars in the novel and countless other media, which I found quite enjoyable.  The book may sound like a tearjerker due to Auggie's mistreatment, but Palacio scatters humor throughout the novel as well.  Call me a child at heart, but Wonder is one of the best books I've ever read, and I recommend it to everyone.