Maximising Google Reader May 20
Current Mood:
thoughtful
One of the major problems I have using the Internet these days is the managing the sheer volume of content I am exposed to and absorbing it intelligently enough to use it. Along came RSS, Really Simple Syndication and with it RSS Aggregators, programs that would automatically organise your RSS feeds in an easily browsable format.
I never really took to any aggregator software, other than ITunes, and that was limited to aggregating my regularly listened to podcast content. Then about 2-3 weeks ago I started using Google Reader. I must say, this application is quite well done, and follows my experience using other Google Applications in providing a rich user experience inside a very usable interface. Its features continue to show the great potential available inside a well designed web application.
The “wow” feature for me with this application was the provision of JavaScript which, when embedded inside my blog’s sidebar widget, allows me to produce a list of links to the articles I have marked as “shared” inside Google Reader under my blog’s aptly titled “What I’m reading” header.
This has now freed me from needing time to write what I consider honestly the most boring of blog posts, a linking post, in order to share what I honestly consider useful web content for both personal and professional growth.
My focus can now be set on writing more introspective articles with what I hope to be better original content. I hope to focus these articles on how I’ve applied the lessons taught to me by my mentors at Medullan and those that I’ve also taught myself. Real world experiences working on successful project delivery and what I’ve learnt in my own personal and professional experiences as I continue to grow in the leadership roles there will definitely be my mantra when writing these articles.
I’d also hope to write some more articles focusing on books I’ve been reading and the content of these and my own personal lessons learnt from these. Thanks to Google Reader, I think I can now utilise the limited time I have for blogging on writing these types of articles now.