Thursday, October 4, 2007

Week 4 #9 Finding Feeds


Ok well I have spent a great deal of time on this exercise but I am not sure why? I guess because I didn't feel I had something specific to search for? I checked out all for search tools and although I found something interesting/unusual using each site I am not sure that I would necessarily be able to find exactly what I was looking for using any of them. In exploring these tools I merely browsed through what was out there. If I had something specific for which I was looking I don't know that any particular one over the other would help me locate the desired outcome.
Feedster was "pretty" but green and as Kermit will tell you, "It's not easy being green." But I did find 31 Flavorite Authors! (see previous post for more information) while exploring Feedster.
Topix had a decent appearance and the ability to feed very locale specific information was interesting. I typed in the zip code for where some of my extended family lives in Mehoopany, Pennsylvania and found out all about what is going on in their neck of the woods.
Syndic8 was the "public broadcasting" of the four search tools. The graphics were definetly low tech but the search capabilities are there except when Syndic8 is offline -- database backup in process which I received both tonight and last night at about 11:10 CST so there you have it on Syndic8.
And finally Technorati, which was also easy to use but I have to ask what is it with green? I got to see and hear about all the good times people are having in Munich where the Oktoberfest is taking place but the most intriguing of things I found using Technorati was Google Blackout? - talk about a search geek with a computer. It's ok I am not insulting him, just repeating what he says on his blog. At first, he determines the site to be a countdown to 1/1/08. But wait "just for kicks," he turnes off the javascript to see what that would reveal about the page and with a Davinci Code like twist now it appears to be GPS coordinates that point to Google's Mountain View office. And wait! "What’s more, the source code now includes a link in the header to a Technorati search for Google Monopoly.
YIKES! I am going to bed!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Liat - Thanks for the link! And don't worry, I'm not mad that you called me a search geek. The first step is accepting it...

JUDY ABSHIRE said...

Topix site is fantastic...I love it! Checked out Tunkhannock and Columbus. J. A.