I have set up my Google Reader and have added some feeds, including some of the blogs of other 23 Things Oxford participants. I'm getting another flashback, to when I set up a Bloglines account last year (or was it 2008?) and subscribed to so many feeds I just could not keep up with them. Aren't RSS feeds just another way of feeling overwhelmed by information, like email? I gave up on the Bloglines account but did not delete it - goodness knows how many items are sitting in it now, patiently waiting for my attention...
What is the optimum manageable number of RSS feeds?
PS Apologies for the pointlessly punning title.
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Is info overload just a result of insufficient filtering?
ReplyDeleteI always seem to have too much to read too... but I like having it all there so I can pick and choose what sounds interesting. Perhaps I worry too much about missing something important.
So in answer to your question about the optimum number of feeds, I wouldn't put a limit on that, but I would encourage skim reading and not feeling guilty if it's been a long day/week/lifetime and you end up clicking on 'mark all as read'.
Ah Laura, someone else who saw the Clay Shirky talk (or perhaps just the link to the Clay Shirky talk on Twitter like me - haven't actually watched it yet).
ReplyDeleteAlison, I'll second what Laura says - I have a lot of feeds but I don't always read all of them. Although pruning them is a good habit to get into - if you're often skipping over a feed and not bothering with it then clearly it's a sign you shouldn't actually be subscribed!