cases for this week...

I am not really sure what to say of these cases...One thing that does come to mind, which is not really off topic I guess. While doing my coop at NRCan, RSS was suggested to some patrons/scientists who could take advantage of RSS to have updates on different searches that they did. Basically, you could save your search (ie: Lit Search- For those of you who had J. Noon, you know what these are, and how much time they take), well by using the RSS feature, you can save your search and anytime, something new comes up that would be in your search, the patron can get a notice of it. It is really neat, and a true time saving tool.

week 5 readings...

Overall the readings were interesting, but the one that caught my attention the most was the one by Randy Reichardt, who writes about how undergrads do not know about RSS. I don't want to seem to critical of the readings, but a lot of the content seems dated, and his article dates back to Fall 2005. I am curious about today, if we were to run the same survey, how many students would you think would know of RSS. I am sure a lot more than none! Also, I think a majority of students would know about blogging/blogs. The information age that we are presently in, is growing at a very rapid rate, and for example the large use of Facebook I think says a lot about how technology, online communication and sharing of information is growing at a rapid speed. At least in the North American market. In Europe or Asia, I'm sure they are probably going through other phases, possibly even ahead of ours, and the dated "Facebook". All to say that I think more people are aware of these tools and possibilities as was mentioned on the article.

In Hollenback's article, I agree that RSS can help blend different tools and make access to information easier and more efficient.