In the last ten years or so, there has been a major shift in how the media operates. What once seemed like a handful of huge conglomerate news corporations controlling what was said and who said it has now ballooned exploded into hundreds of thousands millions of individuals and groups putting the word out themselves. Thankfully, there has also been a shift in how content is delivered.
In this post I will detail the differences between old and new media and how you can use an RSS feed to help control the chaos.
Old Media Content Delivery
The user goes to the information
The user went to a website(s), bought a newspaper or magazine, or checked out a book to retrieve the information that they sought.
Information is static
It does not change until a physical update has occurred which could take days (newspapers), weeks or months (magazines, older websites), or even years (books, encyclopedia).
Old Media Problems
Information does not always get transmitted in a timely manner
In order to get updated information the user would either have to revisit the website, buy the next issue of the newspaper/magazine, or check out the next volume from the library.
Control is taken out of the hands of the user
The user is told which ideas/concepts are worthy instead of getting to make that decision themselves. This results in a lockstep culture that walks the line as media declares it. All those that walk outside the path of this media are considered counter-culture.
Information is filtered
Most sources of information/ideas are vetted through an editorial board which means many ideas are killed before going to print. This could be seen as a benefit as this sort of information is generally accepted by most people as being authoritative. Still, by having only a few, powerful voices speaking it is implied that there is journalistic honesty occurring. Who is keeping these sources honest? Government? Themselves? I don’t think so. You? Me? Not without a voice.
New Media Content Delivery
The information comes to the user
The user will visit only one website, a blog reader, which then feeds all updated information/concepts/ideas to the user. This is all accomplished through an RSS feed. To see if a website has an RSS feed, look for this icon (or a variation of it) on their page or in your browser’s URL bar.
New Media Benefits
Up-to-date information
The user always has the most up-to-date information, with the freshest news, ideas, and concepts.
Control is given back to the user
The user gets to decide whose authority they will trust, instead of being told such by someone else. By making subscribing to a feed a simple thing to do (which it is) users get to audition many different “authorities” before deciding on who they will listen to. There is no money changing hands or year-long subscription plans being locked into.
Anyone can be an expert
Because blogs are generally on a personal level (meaning that anyone can setup and operate a blog) then ideas are able to flow more easily between content providers and recipients. This has led to millions of people becoming bloggers. Out of those millions there have risen some shining stars that we would consider professional bloggers. These guys (and not a few girls) now provide many of the stories which Old Media run with.
Wider dissemination of ideas
No ideas are left out because of an editorial board. This does mean that there is a wider range of junk out there, but as you discover which bloggers you trust – they will generally refer you to others in your niche area that can be trusted as well.
Subscribing to Blogs/RSS Feeds
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication
Most 2.0 websites, including magazines and newspapers that have an online edition, will feature an RSS feed which will be indicated by the (generally) orange feed icon at the top of the page or in the address bar (For Sarfari users, it is a blue RSS icon).
Clicking on the feed icon will take you to options as to which feed reader you would like to use.
Alternatively, you can right-click on the feed icon and then copy/paste the url into your preferred feed reader
Blog Readers
A blog reader is a single website that pulls together all the content that you ask it to. Content is delivered to the you, the user, through it. Whenever there is an update, you get it.
Some possible feed readers:
Online Versions:
1. Google Reader
2. BlogLines
3. My Yahoo!
4. NewsGator
5. NetVibes
6. My Aol
Offline Versions:
1. FeedDemon
2. Microsoft Outlook
3. NetNewsWire (Mac Only)
4. NewsFire
5. RSSOwl
Alternatively, you can google “feed reader” (remember the parentheses) and you’ll find even more options, such as ones for mobile phones/iPhone.
Author’s Note: I personally like Google Reader, which can also be used offline using Google Gears. Lifehacker’s Firefox-addon Better GReader makes it even, well, better.
Finding Content
To find content try the following methods:
- Do a search for the type of blog or site you are looking for (i.e., “mommy blogs”, “life hacks blogs”). When you get to the site you want, locate their feed icon and your home!
- Use a blog search engine, such as Google Blog Search at blogsearch.google.com. Another good option is to take a look at sites like Digg.com or Technorati.com to see what’s big in the blogosphere right now.
- Read a syndicated news page, such as Google News at news.google.com. Many old media newspapers have an online edition. Some have even gone completely online. Just because there’s been a shift, doesn’t mean that you have to miss out on the content from the people you trust the most.
- As you read a blog, look at the “blog roll” usually found on the side of the blogger’s page to see which blogs they are reading. Usually if you do this you can find the top tier bloggers out there.
Further Reading on RSS
If you’re still not sure about how RSS works or would just like to explore it a little further, these are two resources that I personally recommend:
- Problogger Darren Rowse has compiled a great page explaining more about RSS. His is a great blog if you’re interested in blogging yourself.
- Common Craft has put together their special flavor of video explaining RSS in plain english here
Where to Get Started?
A great way to get started would be to subscribe to this site, Losing the World, by clicking on one of the many feed icons either in your browser, in the top right of the side bar or even right below this post. Alternatively, if you’re not ready to use a feed reader, you can get our feed sent directly to your email by entering your email address in the text box in the top right box of the sidebar.
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