Finding RSS

I found the straight-forward search tools - like Bloglines search - easiest to use.

I like Topix' interactive graphs that let you see how often a topic was mentioned in the news over the year. You can see when the topic generated buzz. Then you can click on one of the bars in the graph and it shows you the stories that about it from that day.

I like Technorati's up-to-dateness, and the sheer number of blogs is overwhelming. Who knew? However, the overwhelmingness means, of course, that your more likely to find just the blog for you, as long as the search tech is any good, and theirs seems to be OK. Also, you can subscribe to the RSS of the search results in Technorati - in other words it sets up an alert for new blogs and posts that come up about your favorite topics. Cool.

Melissa.

RSS

I've set up a public Bloglines account.

I like RSS because it makes it much easier to keep on on whatever you're interested in. Most websites have jumped on the bandwagon; only rarely do I run into a website that does not have a way to RSS. I use RSS at work to keep up with my professional reading.

Melissa.

YouTube Thoughts

I love that the content is so varied. Really bizarre amateur videos, National Archives and Records Administrations videos (including NASA, National Parks, and Newsreel footage), popular culture (Leonard Nimoy sings "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins"), music, and just a lot of random stuff.

Going to the Google Video homepage lets you search Google Video, YouTube and Crackle at the same time.

The Monty Python/Star Trek video in the post below really tickles my funny bone.

Features of YouTube that could be useful for library websites? Do you have a while? I'm just going to pick two:

Folksonomies - I really like the idea of patrons being able to tag services and books and other items we own, and building up a network of subject headings that, while subjective, are probably going to be of more use to more patrons than the very stilted language of the Library of Congress Subjects Headings. Don't get me wrong; I'm not advocating getting rid of the LCSH - they serve a very important purpose. They're just often not very accessible.

RSS - I would love to be able to have a list of authors on file in our catalog and get notified when we order something by one of them. Hit or miss is just so...hit or miss.

Melissa.