RSS

Upon using the internet you've probably come glanced at something that says "RSS" but just glanced over it because it probably had no relevance to you, but have you ever wondered, what is RSS? It stands for Rich Site Summary, in other words it's a format for delivering regularly changing website content, used by many news related sites that have updates to make frequently and efficiently. For example the BBC is "the #1 most subscribed to feed" according to scobleizer.com. RSS gets information from websites visited regularly so the user does not need go and check every website individually. The time saving RSS was presumably created by Netscape co-created by Dave Winer in 1997 but there has been some disputes as to if they actually made it first or not. Many bloggers use RSS feeds because it provides a quick and easy way to get information, without having to sign up for e-newsletters and does not require the user to give out their email address to undesirable websites. According to www.micropersuasion.com "11% of the population uses RSS feeds and it may be peaking."

Face(book) the facts.

Do you have anything on your Facebook page that could hurt you later in life? Many employers when considering a job candidate will look at potential employee's Facebook pages before actually hiring anyone. Is it right? Well, that's not really relevant anymore since they do it anyway. Nobody has a choice. But there is a simple solution out there, just don't have anything on Facebook that could hurt you later in life. When discussing the topic with my mother she simply said, "Don't trash an employer in public. That's something to talk about at home not in a public place." Word spreads quickly with the use of technology, and even more quickly when it's on the internet in the first place. When talking to a college friend of mine he told me "Privacy settings are made for a reason. Use them." Although that brings me to another issue. Anything that ever was on the internet is available for anyone to see... with some snooping. Should employers be able to creep in to your Facebook even if it's set on private? I would think not, but it can happen, so think about that next time you post something remotely inappropriate. How do you know what's inappropriate? Just go by this guideline; don't post anything you wouldn't want your mother to see.

Why Blogger?

I think blogging and blog reading is an unnecessary waste of time. Sure, it's ironic, I dislike the concept of blogging and here I am writing a blog. Why would you blog to begin with? Write your opinion online, and see if anyone reads it. Maybe it's interesting, but why not just tell people about things you feel strongly about? That's how to spread the word. I also don't believe in blog reading. Why read them? Because you don't have enough sense of self to formulate an opinion of your own, so you have to read someone else's. Because you think it's entertaining, obviously you have too much time on your hands. Do something more productive. Because you want to find out about something. Yeah, great idea and all, but there are tons of better more reliable sources to get information from. You're getting some information written by someone you don't know, someone who can write whatever they want rather than an actual reliable source. Because this class is making you read other people's blogs. That's the only reason I can actually find to read a blog. To get an A in a class. That's a great reason. Of course there are also the people who blog to get people interested in a topic that they feel strongly about, but why not actually do something about it? There's so much more to do then write a blog, but sadly blogging is the trend that has swept America lately. In France they smoke, and in America we blog.