Thing #11

Of the three tools given (Google Blog Search, Technorati, and Topix.net) I found Technorati to be my favorite. Google Blog Search was the most helpful for finding blogs, but Technorati actually found news article and other information that I would have never found on Google. Topix.net confused me too much. I didn't understand how to search or what I was searching for. I found that it said that it didn't search weblogs, and  didn't really understand why it was even an option to look at. It had a terrible layout and was very ad-heavy. The easiest method was to search by topic on Google Blog Search; I found a really great website called Literacy and Laughter through that search. It didn't actually have an RSS feed button that I could find, but I book marked it because it's a really great class website that's updated frequently. I also found a great article on how to properly use Wikipedia in the classroom via Technorati.

Thing #10

RSS seems like quite a practical application, in theory. I think that RSS feeds get harder to search and expand everyday since more blogs are created everyday. I also find it hard to locate blogs that I find credible. I would worry, a little bit, about my RSS feed becoming stagnate if I weren't searching other avenues for new information and ideas. So, at that point I wouldn't find the feed very useful anymore because I really love to search. I bookmark sites that I like and check back periodically, and I like being able to control what I see and when I see it. I would use a RSS feed if I found a site (or sites) that updated daily or close to daily, and I was interested in almost every single post. Other than that I like to make rounds through my bookmarks once a week or every few weeks.