Earlier today I did ‘a Scobleizer’, and deleted all of my RSS subscriptions from Google Reader. The decision to start fresh was growing in me for a few weeks now, and Scoble’s post from this morning only affirmed my decision.
Some prefix is required here, as I haven’t written about that topic in a while – the distribution and consumption of news. With the ‘Big 3’ in mind – Facebook, Google+, Twitter, and adding Flipboard and HitPad to the mix, I think I’ve reached some conclusions on where I turn to read what, which also seems to coincide with current public perception:
- Google+ is where serious discussion takes place, and valuable opinions and insights are shared. My good friend Hillel Fuld is a strong believer in Google+, mainly for the vibrating discussion that takes place. If you got your circles right, you’re in for a treat, content-wise, any time of day.
- Facebook is where the fun stuff is shared, racking up Likes and Shares all around. I might find there an interesting Share, but most of the time – I find myself ‘judging’ the content based on the photo used.
- Twitter is tricky. Among all other social networks, Twitter is the only one that actually broke psychical boundaries, making it easier for people like me to interact and tweet with people like Robert Scoble, Dave Morin, Daniel Bedingfield, Ashton Kutcher and many others. Having said that, Twitter still needs to find a way to deal with all the noise. Other than lists.
- I’d also mention LinkedIn, which made a huge leap news-wise when they released their new iPhone app, which includes the ‘Updates’ tab, for top shared news from my network. Hands down my favorite app for hot stories.
So now my RSS reader is clean (actually was clean for two hours or so), and I’ve already started adding feeds to it, in small doses: Dave Winer, Scoble, Boston.com’s The Big Picture, Google Android Developer Blog, and a few others. It’s taking shape again, but I think I’ll have 20 at the most (compared with 80+ I had last time). With the built-in Google+ integration, I hope the new Reader will help Google regain a place on my list.
What’s your favorite tool or social network for catching up with the news? How many feeds do you keep track after? Shout back here, on Google+ or on Twitter.
Last but not least: This is the 3rd post I’ve written from my iPad, and I do think it’s time I share a few thoughts on my shiny new gadget and how I use it. Stay tuned, more to come.
