Back on The RSS Bandwagon Wednesday September 1, 2010

A couple of years ago, just went Twitter was starting to really transform the tech industry, I did something pretty bold. Well, not really bold, but in the Web Nerd industry, it’s quite bold.

I abandoned my RSS Feed Account.

By the way for those not familiar with RSS and RSS Feeds, it’s essentially a handy way to get the most recent posts or updates from a particular web site directly to your computer, you know without actually visiting the site. I know it’s a bit more complicated than that, but for those uninitiated that’s a bit of a laymen’s breakdown.

Back on track. Two years ago, with Twitter acting as my personal industry watercooler (thanks to Andy for that term), I started to get incredibly overwhelmed by the 40 or so RSS feeds I had.

I found that my RSS Feedreader was nothing more than a reminder of all the articles I didn’t have time to read. Then with Twitter, it really started to feel like an obsolete tool. All the most interesting posts were already being relayed and I found myself launching my RSS feed only to hit the Mark All Read button.

So I deleted my RSS feeds, abandoned the Reader and felt a huge sigh of relief.

Fast forward to now and I’ve found myself in an incredibly odd predicament.

Over saturated by the constant barrage of Twitter posts and Facebook links, I’ve been feeling incredibly overwhelmed by information. Generally disconnected from the small group of sites which make the internet awesome I set about the nerdy quest of reviving my RSS collection.

But unlike the first time, I’ve decreed that I am aiming to limit my RSS Feeds to just 15 subscriptions. And if I add a new site appears it’s gotta be worthy enough to replace another feed. I am also aiming to keep this list of feeds to sites that I want to stay informed on. Sure the golden staples of the web are on the list Kottke.org, Dooce.com, Poploser.org, Kanye West (come on this is a designers dream) and Airbag Industries.

But for this new list, I’ve also added a couple of new sites that I think are worthy enough to share.

• Trenddown – Run by local designer Adam Goetz, trenddown is an eclectic collection of everything tech and design. Always a great source of fantastic articles.
• DCist – DC and to an extent Arlington is my new adopted home, so of course I need to find something that shows what’s really going on in the District. Sure it’s apart of the Gothamist network, but for a daily blog it’s incredibly informative. From stories on what’s going on to coverage of the latest DC crazy, it really is a gem of a site. (Plus the daily photo is always stunning)
• CalgaryisAwesome – Albeit very similar to the concept behind the DCist (and the overall ist network). Calgary is Awesome is a great way to keep my other foot planted in to the hear of what’s going on in Calgary and all the great things the city has to offer. Consider it a focused online version of FastForward.
• Fuck Yeah YYC – If CIA is the site you go to find out all the good and amazing things going on in Calgary, Fuck Yeah YYC is the site for everything surreal and ultimately quirky about our beloved city. With contributions from poploser, splorp and myownbiggestfan you know the content is going to be hilarious.
• The Big Caption – all the beauty of Boston’s The Big Caption but with witty commentary. Yes, I’ve already linked to it multiple times in the past, but you really have to add it.

So there you have it. If you’ve got a solid suggestion feel free to leave it in the comments.

Categories: The-Blogosphere, The-Soapbox,

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