I have to admit that I’ve never really ‘got’ RSS feeds and as a result have always studiously avoided them. I was therefore pleased that the second Thing we had to tackle as part of Cam23 was RSS feeds. The fact that I’ve been forced to find out about them and thereafter will no longer be able to ignore their existence can only be a good thing. I think.
So the first task was to add the RSS feed of the 23 Things Cambridge blog to my iGoogle page. Simples.
So simples in fact I decided to try out the ‘optional extra’, which was to check out Google Reader.
I’d heard mixed things about Google Reader – some people love it and some people don’t. And I started off thinking that it was a good thing – one place to check in order to keep up-to-date with the outside world. That sounds sensible.
But then I had second thoughts. I spent ages setting up my iGoogle page (see my previous post for further details) and it seemed stupid not to ‘cash in’ on this investment of time by making my iGoogle page even more relevant. I’ve therefore decided that, rather than going to the separate Google Reader page, I’m going to add all of the RSS feeds I’m interested in to iGoogle. I’ve begun by adding some feeds for other Cam23 bloggers…
My Cam23 tab showing RSS feeds
I know this is probably going to controversial to some, but that’s just the way it’s going to be.
My scores for Thing 2 (RSS feeds via iGoogle not Google Reader) are…
Usability: 
Utility: Likelihood of adoption:
Interesting post. I admit that there is a positive aspect to having everything in one place, but all those boxes on igoogle would drive me crazy! Have you played with bloglines? It is really handy for reading rss/blog feeds and lists them all separately with the amount of new posts in brackets…but then that does involve navigating to another page, which destroys the idea of igoogle as a one-stop spot really.
Hi, thanks for your comment. Nope haven’t heard of bloglines, but I’ll certainly check it out given your recommendation. Have to admit that I don’t really mind the separate boxes on iGoogle, but I may change my mind as I start to add more RSS feeds.