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Bill Israel on learning better RSS management:
“I treat RSS with undeserving priority, and this causes two big problems: 1) I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to read, flag, or ‘mark as read’ all new RSS items as they come in, and 2) I’ll go to absurd lengths to ensure I have zero unread items whenever I walk away from a computer.”
“This compulsion has reached the point of being a real problem, and I’m finally taking steps to rectify it.”
So begins Bill’s quest to tame the inbox and regain some control. Whilst I have cut down a lot of redundant technology related feeds, I’m still in the denial stage.
I can stop when ever I want. Honestly.. I can. Oooh, Google Reader you’ve got more stuff for me to read? Marvellous.
— d’oh.
"I decided it’s time to give back to the loyal reader who are posting their thoughts on each entry I press the publish button to." — offering to pay for additional comment will inevitably result in quantity over quality.
Michael has recently written (in pirate) that he is kinda diggin’ tumblr:
I’ll skip th’ whole ‘this is what tumblr is, in relation t’ all o’ these other, pseudo-similar web 2.0 sites’ and simply say that I’m kind o’ fallin’ in love with tumblr, and dinna spare the whip, avast! I’m not 100% committed yet, and I’m still feelin’ me way aroun’ it, but it is pretty nice, I must say.
Simplicity is often under-rated. In a content rich web 2.0 environment the typical action is to add massive complexity, numerous doo-dads and provide four-thousand-and-one different ways to screw in the proverbial light bulb.
Tumblr dismisses that philosophy and goes for a simple, savvy back-end that genuinely encourages you to add more content. It’s no-nonsense approach is really hard to beat.
It’s a refreshing change when a content engine facilitates presentation, rather than fights you for it.
"Therefore the question becomes not “What will you write about?â€? but rather, “What will you say?â€?." — speaks to the heart of quality and standards, writing engaging content, dispensing with frivolous how-to filler and providing something genuinely worth reading.
"Good copywriting is part of the development process — it is not optional. It is part of good usability and accessibility." — an interesting take on how the designer-blogger should work their craft; it’s yet another how-to yes, but does it resonate in part?
