Fred Wilson has a great post up: The “Feedization” Of The Web, in which, as usual, his excellent insights are accompanied by equally interesting comments. (I left my thoughts as well, of course.)
It really is true these days that the bitstream flowing into Google Reader, Bloglines, or your RSS reader of choice is just the tip of the iceberg. We are ever-increasingly managing relationships via RSS as much as we are managing information with it. This isn’t native behaviour to us, though, so we need to learn how to use the tools, as well as the analytical finesse required in successfully mechanizing aspects of relationship management. How analyzing and filtering of relationship engagement could/should work is something we’ve discussed here on more than one occasion.
Information management, especially online, is undergoing a fascinating evolution, I think. And one that is very much embryonic and ripe with amazing possibility. It can be hard to wrap your brain around, too, for a lot of folks, though. The realization that we can’t actually keep up with everything and everyone we wish we could actually comes accompanied with guilt for many of us. Guilt over failing to keep up with people makes sense, but guilt over failing to keep up with information? On paper it seems very strange, but it’s real enough.
Of course, the technology is still quite new (we’re only just over a year old ourselves, after all), and as with many platforms, apps, and services online, there’s a lack of standardization. As I noted in my comment on Fred’s post, there are all kinds of ways to publish a blog and accept comments, as one example. Not all apps offer public APIs, nor offer the same depth of access to their data. Of course, users don’t necessarily know this, or care. They just want to be able to access what interests them. How do you choose which issues to tackle? It’s a question that needs to be asked and addressed constantly.
As always, we rely on your input. Feedback on how things are working, what would make your lives easier, questions on how to do things, etc. And we really love the demonstrations of how AideRSS helps you lifehack, both personally and professionally.
Even in the three months I’ve been part of this community, the collective genius I’ve been exposed to has been thoroughly impressive. And combined with the innately collaborative nature of the community members, I have every confidence that we have more than enough superpowers at hand to turbo charge the evolution of information management and make it an integral part of nearly all aspects of online life. It’s gonna be so cool.