Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Thing 4 - Keeping Up

So, for Thing 4, we were supposed to install an app to collect RSS feeds, blogs, news, etc. that we may be interested in.

As someone who tries to keep up with a basic knowledge of new technology, I have been aware of RSS feeds for a long time.  But I've never participated.  There's something about only getting the news & blog posts that you know you'll be interested in... never seeing stuff you know you'll disagree with, be upset by.

Living in the country, well outside the Twin Cities, and 5 miles outside our hometown of Faribaut, we can't get a Twin Cities paper, let alone a national paper, delivered.  We do get the local paper - a 5-days/week paper - but it's pretty spare on the national and international news.  My husband reads the Mpls Star-Tribune online, as well as the Washington Post, every day during the winter and when he can during the farming months of April-November.  I scan headlines from the Strib and MinnPost, and skim through other headlines during the course of my day - reading in depth what catches my eye & what I have time for.  So, I guess I'm kind of doing what an app like Flipboard will do for me.

I installed Flipboad and set up a few magazines and threw some content into each of them.  I also subscribed to a couple of RSS feeds from sites I already visit.  I've not been sure how much I like reading on my phone (my device is an iPhone), but it gives me something to do when I'm waiting in line, in a waiting room, alone at a table (without a book!), and so on.  Of course, reading eBooks does the same thing... but I don't find myself doing that often enough to finish a free (library)  eBook before it's return date.  So maybe this will work better for me.  Staying informed about our nation and the world is important to me - personally and professionally.

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