Seems like I’m not the only one who dreads opening up his RSS reader these days (hat tip: Download Squad).
Here’s an interesting experiment: one blogger, Halsted (AKA Cygnoir) has sworn off her RSS reader for an entire week, choosing instead to read blogs the “old-fashioned” way: actually going to the blogs she wants to read at that moment and reading the posts there.
From her blog:
“As I mentioned in my last post, I’m a bit overwhelmed by information right now. In a fit of pique (which just the other day I learned, thanks to FunkyPlaid, is monosyllabic) I decided to stop reading all RSS feeds for a week.
Day 1 has gone swimmingly, perhaps because I spent the majority of it in a workshop. Regardless, I did not check my RSS reader on my iPhone during my lunch break. Email and Twitter were my only two information sources, and I subscribe to the BBC world news feed with the latter, so I have a vague notion of the day’s headlines. I read my book, chatted with FunkyPlaid, window-shopped in Hayes Valley, and started a crossword puzzle.”
Yesterday was “Day 7.” How’d she do?
“I’ve made my point to myself: I don’t need to keep up with 269 RSS feeds to lead a complete, informed, happy life. Also, I prefer getting my news from communities that encourage participation instead of from one-way news blasts.”
In an age where we’re slaves to the philosophy of “must not miss a single thing,” what kind of consequences are we imposing upon ourselves? Sounds like we all need a little “web zen” these days.
Technorati Tags: RSS, information overload, blog, blogs, community, social media
