Keeping track of industry news and current events today typically requires that you a) bow to the knowledge of a few "Big Media" pubs like the WSJ, the Post, CNN, and the like or b) that you try to create your own knowledge-base, scanning as many sites, zines, newsgroups, and even IRC channels as your time will allow. Obviously, the latter of the two will give you a better picture of what's actually happening on this spinning globe. Of course, you'll have precious little time for anything else.
Enter Rich Site Summary (rss), a magical XML definition that allows sites (and people) to aggregate content from select news sources. Initially RSS made sites like my.netscape.com hum with information. Sadly, it has since fallen into disuse on major portals, thanks in great part to the effectiveness of Google, I think. However, as Jon Udell points out in a Byte.com column this week, RSS has found a new home among the world's blogging community, where it greatly empowers "end-point" publishers.
These folks use RSS channels to collect, aggregate, and disseminate information they deem valuable. Powered by Dave Winer's most excellent Radio UserLand software, The Daily Blog is itself an RSS channel, to which you can subscribe, analyze, and disseminate as you see fit. If you are a UserLand subscriber, you can automatically add this site to your aggregator here.
Conversely, with UserLand's built in RSS aggregator, I can quickly gather news from other blog authors...and of course from sources such as Wired, USA Today, and The NY Times. Of course you don't need a blog publishing product like Radio. With a private RSS aggregator, you can subscribe to any RSS feed. Give it a whirl. I guarantee you'll find yourself to be both informed and with the time to act (responsibly or otherwise).
Posted by Brad Shimmin at 4:42:04 PM
|
|
