Third Post

Three different ways to add an RSS feed to Google Reader:
1. If you already know the website you want to subscribe to you can click the Subscribe button on your google reader, type in the URL of the website, and press Add.
2. If you do not know the website you want to subscribe to you can use the directory.  This will help you find RSS feeds and you can add them that way.
3. If you find a website you want to subscribe to and it has an RSS button (there are a variety of shapes, sizes and colours of these buttons) you can click it and it will then be added to your RSS feed.

     An RSS reader is better than viewing websites for many reasons.  The most convenient reason to use an RSS reader is that you can view all of your websites in one place.  Instead of individually visiting each website as you normally do, the posts on the websites are all listed in your RSS reader.  Another reason why an RSS reader is better than individually visiting each website is because your RSS reader will tell you when a website has created a new post.  For example, if you consistently read five websites you will not no longer have to visit each website over and over again, checking for new posts because your RSS reader will tell you when a new post has been made created.  These two features alone help you save a great amount of time.
     One disadvantage of using an RSS reader is that you are not able to see the design of a website.  Some websites are created and designed so that their layout and background complements the content of the website.  However, this is a small drawback in comparison to the advantages of an RSS reader.
     Personally I find RSS feeds to be very useful.  I am someone who spends a lot of time on the internet looking at blogs.  The fact that I am able to view all of the blogs I enjoy reading in one place saves me so much time, which is very useful!  With this time I am saving I can spend more time on school work, with friends, etc.  I could also see this technology being very useful for an on-going school assignment.  For example, if I was doing a research project that lasted for six months I would be able to subscribe to many educational blogs and easily read all of the updates created over that period of time.  Since blogs are packed with important information and an RSS reader lets me know when they have been updated, as well as being able to view them all in the same place, this would save me a lot of time and effort.  I also find that when searching for RSS feeds with Google Reader many websites appear that I would not have found otherwise- which would also help my research project!  Although this is not exactly an everyday use of an RSS reader, I still find this technology very useful and time saving for merely reading blogs I normally do!
     A web-based aggregator has many advantages over desktop software that performs the same functions.  One advantage of using a web-based aggregator rather than computer software is that you do not need to update the website you are using.  When the website creates a newer and updated version, the changes will be automatically applied to the website; whereas, if you were using desktop software, you would have to download the newest version of this software.  Also, using a website does not take up any memory on your computer since the data is stored remotely.  Another huge advantage of using a web-based aggregator is that you are able to access your RSS reader on any platform that has access to the internet.  This is very convenient since you are able to access any information you need anywhere!

Second Post

     When I researched Twitter as well as made a Twitter account I came across some pleasant surprises.  In the past I was never an avid Twitter user but after researching it and using it in a different way I now see many advantages it holds.  One of the articles I read about Twitter explained that Twitter is not about the number of followers that you have, but rather about how much you can value you can add to your followers.  I thought about what the author of the article meant and came up with this: it doesn't matter how many people see what you post, what matters is what you post.  For example, if you have 500 people following your Twitter but only posted status updates about how intoxicated you are this would not add value to any of your followers.  However, if you had twelve followers and posted a quote that inspired these people, you would have added value to their lives.  Overall, I learned that Twitter is not merely about who follows you, but it is about the quality and substance to the posts you create and the posts other people create.  After learning this, my opinion has changed and I now see that Twitter has many advantages.

     I think Twitter is useful for many different people.  Depending on who you follow the content you read will be very different.  For example, one person may follow a number of different Twitters all related to the weather, or someone else may follow Twitters that all relate to politics, or all relating to technology, or even characters on reality television shows.  Another advantage of Twitter is that users are able to pick and choose what content they read.  If someone wanted to learn about and stay up to date with recent advances in technology, following a number of Twitters speaking about technology would be very useful for this person.
     Twitter is different than blogging because on Twitter you create short status updates, whereas on blogs you are able to fully express yourself and completely explain a given subject.  Twitter status updates are limited to 140 characters and when creating a blog post there is no character limit.  This allows people reading blogs to devour a much greater amount of information compared to the information communicated through a Twitter status.  Due to this, Twitter is much different than blogs because it severely limits the amount of information you are able to communicate and in turn, the amount of information someone may learn.

*In case any of my readers wanted to read the article I mentioned in the first paragraph it is: http://blog.beethomas.com/what-is-the-purpose-of-twitter/ 

First Post

     I have created and maintained numerous blogs but I have never created a Blogger account.  Personally, I did not enjoy working on Blogger.  I find that other blogging websites are much more user friendly and much simpler to use.  I have spend spend almost all of my free time on the internet and learned to read/ write HTML many years ago when I was about twelve years old- I have always been fascinated with the Internet and with technology in general.  As you can see, I am very familiar with blogs as well as designing layouts on the internet.  If I was someone who was not familiar with these things, I would not have been able to navigate and design my Blogger profile at all.

     Although I did not enjoy designing my blog I think that generally Blogger blogs are more intellectual than blogs on other websites.  For example, the majority of Tumblr blogs are maintained by teenagers or young adults and do not have much substance to them.  Although there are some Tumblr blogs that are stimulating, I find that there are more Blogger blogs on this intellectual level.  From perspective I think that Blogger is a great website.

     Some of the blogs that I examined were more useful than others.  I have listed them on my blog under the 'Favourite Blogs List' heading, (Architecture Wanted, iGNANT, iPhone in Canada, PostSecret, Rules of Thirds, and The Absolute Best Photography Posts).  I thought that the blog Architecture Wanted was very useful.  The blog had a very clean looking layout which made it easy to navigate.  I thought one of the best and most useful features of this blog was the fact that every post on it had a relatively short blurb explaining what the pictures were.  Since this is an architecture blog it provided me with many great pictures that I eagerly wanted to see, as well as some follow up information if I wanted to further research the presented topic.
     Another blog that I examined was iGNANT.  This blog consisted mainly of photographs and one of the categories featured was architecture.  I did not find this blog as useful as Architecture Wanted for one reason: the blog is entirely in German.  I still found this blog to be very entertaining and the images were captivating!  I would have found it more useful if I was able to read about the pictures presented.  I enjoy further researching a subject if I find it interesting but I was not able to do that with iGNANT.
     Another blog I examined was PostSecret.  I found PostSecret very useful and the idea behind it very intriguing.  People from all over the world anonymously mail post cards to a given address with their 'secrets' written on the back.  A number of secrets are then selected each week and posted on the PostSecret blog.  I was very interested by this blog and found it very useful because it is commonly seen as a support for people.  For example, if a secret is posted and someone is able to relate to it they may feel that they are 'not alone' and in turn feel more optimistic.  I now frequently visit the PostSecret blog because I find it so useful!

     I think that blogs are very useful in today's society.  There are many different types of blogs created for a variety of people.  For example, there are personal blogs where people write about their day-to-day lives, there are educational blogs that discuss endless subjects ranging from visual art to the evolution of DNA, there are blogs that teachers create to keep their students up to date on a specific class, and the list goes on.  Blogs are written in different languages and for different age groups and because of this they are able to service almost anyone.  The amount of information stored, explained and circulated on blogs is incredible.  Since blogs service so many people and contain so much relevant and important information they hold the ability to have a great impact on people today.  Due to all of this and of course the aspect that they are constantly available to be accessed, blogs present people with endless advantages.
     Despite all of the advantages blogs have there are also disadvantages.  Many people are not tech-savvy and have trouble navigating blogs and the internet in general.  An example of how a blog would be a disadvantage is if someone was required to investigate a given blog for class and they could not figure out how to navigate through it.  Traditionally, instead of investigating a blog a professor would assign a novel or a magazine article to read.  So, if we look at blogs from this perspective they have many disadvantages for people who are not able to use them in today's society.  I believe that overall there are more advantages than disadvantages of blogs due to the amount of information people can so easily access.