Posts tagged web

No Surprise

I stopped reading my local newspaper in physical format a while ago.  A physical paper did not add any benefit to me and the lack of searching was certainly a drawback, so I just dumped the actual paper.  And while I still read the web version from time-to-time, I actually get most of my news from newsfeeds from over 200 sources via a newsfeed reader (I use Google Reader).

The Suprise

Print media is one thing - I think we all know it is dying - but what I have been surprised by is how much new media has replaced my audio/video news consumption. Sure, the internet is now my primary source for audio/video entertainment, but I was shocked when I realized that the TV/radio are no longer my primary source for news.  Instead, I listen to podcasts and live video streams as my primary source of audio/video news.  

One reason is that, on the internet, I can tailor my news to my tastes.  I listen to a lot of general tech news, programmer specific news as well as financial news.  But I also get to listen to what used to be called “news magazines” that really capture my imagination.  I love This American Life and Radio Lab.  Two very different types of shows, but both with informative and interesting long-form news pieces.

Recognition

I do recognize that some of the podcasts I listen to are actually radio shows converted for web consumption.  But the fact remains I do not listen to them on the radio at all.  And while some of these podcasts are sourced from radio material, over 75% of the podcasts I listen to are internet-only.  The world of information has dramatically changed.

I still listen to live radio and TV, but not that much.  What do I listen live?  Traffic, weather and headlines for local news.  Frankly that is all available online, as well, but I feel like I have to throw a bone to the old guard.  ;-)

Farewell old media…  I, for one, welcome my new media overlords.

How about you?

I have been using newsfeed readers religiously for the past 8 years.  Before Google Reader hit the scene, I used the basic feeds capabilities in Firefox (or whatever it was called back then) and loved it.  Since that time newsfeed standards (RSS, RSS 0.92, RSS 2.0 and ATOM) have ebbed and flowed, but the real benefit has always been the same: 

Newsfeeds are an efficient and effective way to read many websites without actually going to the site.  It is like getting a ticker tape delivered to your browser with news that interests you.

I have a whole strategy for reviewing my newsfeeds so I can get through them all in a sane way.  I use Google Reader’s keyboard shortcuts to navigate my feed headlines and quickly “star” those headlines that interest me.  I then close Google Reader….saving the starred items for a later time when I can really sit down and read.  My strategy works great for me, and I am able to read through hundreds of websites a day with pretty much minimal effort.

What has confused me, though, is a constant, droning cry from the blogosphere that newsfeeds are dead and that Twitter and Facebook are taking the place of newsfeeds.  I just don’t get it.  The theory goes that the people you follow on Twitter or your friends on Facebook are much better curators of headlines than the newsfeeds you selected.  Apparently all you need to do it read the links that come from your social graph and you are all set.  But that does not make sense to me.

First, the members of my social graph do not always share the same interests as I do.  My interests are pretty broad and my social graph is somewhat narrow in comparison.  So I feel like my newsfeeds give me more news.  

Second, while it is true that I read some “unnecessary” headlines by subscribing to whole newsfeeds (ex: Slashdot’s main feed), I feel like the overhead associated with consuming unnecessary feeds is so minimal that it is hardly worth complaining about.  On the other side of the coin, I am exposed to so many more interesting headlines by “oversubscribing” that I feel that I am better informed.  

What do you think?  Are newsfeeds dead?  Are Twitter and Facebook going to make newsfeeds (and Google Reader) obsolete?  What are the “good” arguments.  I would love to learn more.  In the meantime, I am going to get back to reading my feeds.  Long live newsfeeds!