Thing Four: Current Awareness – Twitter, RSS, and Storify

Twitter

My Twitter account is about a year old, but I still consider myself a Twitter newbie.  I occasionally retweet interesting things that I hope to remember, but I really never used it beyond a means for following other people or institutions.  It’s also find out about a lot of news due to twitter feeds that I follow or the trending topics.  When Steve Jobs died late last year, I found out about it on Twitter before any of the news sites posted a story about it.  I’m not saying that I should totally trust everything on Twitter, but it’s a great way to stay informed about things that are happening in the world.

Helpful Links about Twitter

• New to Twitter? Here’s what you do
• The Bare Bones Guide to Twitter
• Twitter basics

RSS Feeds

I follow blogs to keep updated about current topics in libraryland.  To keep organized, I use Google Reader.  I sort each RSS feed into different folders.  The first folder in my Google Reader account is my “Daily” folder.  I try to read these feeds each day.  If I have some free time, it’s the first thing that I look at in my Google Reader account.  I have the rest of my feeds separated by subject.  For example, I have a library folder, technology folder, and folders for personal interests.  When I have time, I try to read these feeds.

When I started using Google Reader, I felt that I needed to read every single post.  Now, I realize that I just don’t have the time.  If my unread post is too high, I don’t feel bad marking the feeds, “read.”  Important information will be posted again online in another form sooner or later.

Helpful Links about RSS Feeds

• What is RSS?
• How Can I Organize My RSS Feeds So They’re More Manageable?

Storify

I have not heard about Storify but can definitely see the benefits of using this tool.  With social media becoming such an integral part of our daily lives, so much of our news can be found on Twitter or Facebook.  I work in an academic library and can see faculty using Storify to create stories about important world events.  Reading about last year’s tsunami in Japan in a newspaper can affect people, but reading tweets, reading blog posts, or watching YouTube from people who were directly affected by the event is much more personal.

Helpful Links about Storify

• Multimedia Reporting Tool Storify Now Available to Public
• The Future of Media: Storify and the Curatorial Instinct