So, after missing out on the event at Olympia this week, I am confined to keeping tabs on various blogs in the hope that I can keep up to speed with the latest developments in the digital universe.

Blogs I am going to keep an eye on are as follows:

Ewen McIntosh, and Roo Reynolds

Something that I am very much looking forward to this week, is the new version on Netvibes called Ginger. There are not too many details available just yet, but if one has read my previous entries on Netvibes, then one would know I am an advocate of Netvibes, even though I am still quite new to the website.

I will also be keeping an eye on another social networking site called ZYGO.  ZYGO is something like TWITTER, but I am not quite in a position to be authoritative on the subject, so I will do my best to write on the sites later down the line.

Originally invented by Netscape and picked up by Userland Software, RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) has now been around for the best part of 10 years and in my opinion, is now only really making huge inroads into the mindset of content providers.  This of course means that it will not be long before we all wonder what we ever did without RSS. 

RSS is essentially the technology behind pulling information from places on the internet that have news content, blog entries, podcasts and other information. 

An RSS document (AKA feed, web feed or channel) is the information that can be viewed e.g. the latest news headline.  This sometimes has some extra content visible when clicked upon, or hovered over. 

And finally to complete the jigsaw, we need to read the RSS document using what is known as a “RSS reader”.  This reader is also known as a “feed reader” or the more fashionable of late, aggregator. 

Now, just when you thought it was safe to go out, there’s more!  Don’t worry, it is straight forward.One needs to subscribe to a feed.  Now this doesn’t mean one has to hand over bank account details, date of birth and vital measurements!  It just means one has to let the RSS reader know what content needs to be pulled when new content becomes available. 

Its just like adding a website as a favourite, but instead, one adds (subscribes) it to the RSS reader. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds. 

It might sound painful, but give it a try (it’s the best way to learn) with some of the common aggregator’s out there e.g. Netvibes etc. 

OK, so I have now bitten the bullet and become part of the Facebook generation.  I think my main issue with being part of the Facebook community, was that the actual T&Cs state that Facebook can pretty much do what ever they like with your information.  However, I have decided that the benefits far outweight the negatives, so another piece of my digital jigsaw has been added to the puzzle.

So to recap, I have started a blog, become part of the social networking community that is Facebook, joined Digg and Delicious (del.icio.us) and my favourite so far has to be Netvibes.

Once I am fully comfortable with all of the above, I will then feel in a position to comment on the benefits, configuration and other opportunities that can be gained from using the digital media, hopefully that will be very soon.

I would also like to say thanks to Steve Moore of Policy Unplugged for providing a taster and helping to increase my awareness of some of the above mentioned and what I should think about in terms of moving forward.

There are of course many other fantastic and beneficial forms of digital content available, but one step at a time has to be the best approach.

What I have learned, is that the like anything in life, the best way to at least get some understanding of anything, is to actually try it out.