Reading The Newspapers Vs. Getting RSS Feeds

Updated on 01-Oct-2006
Leisurely in the library…

Day 1
I needed to resist using RSS feeds, so I ordered two extra dailies. What can I say-I need my fix!

Three newspapers really made my mornings a lot more cheerful, and I just had to carry them to work with me. After all, that’s where my RSS addiction is at its peak. The papers got me through the first day with ease.

Day 3
RSS addiction is at its peak. The papers got me through the first day with ease.
All this reading is good, but I realised that a lot of the content is the same-just different viewpoints. Plus, when my bosses walk by, it always seems like I’m goofing off, reading the papers! In some select cases, mostly political news, getting various viewpoints was a boon-especially for the “friendly” debates I have with my colleagues at lunch.

Day 5
There’s nothing worse than forming an addiction for the comic strips of three different newspapers! I just realised that there was no way I could afford to continue buying all three publications for the rest of my life! The crosswords and leisure sections were no help either. And let’s not even start about the temptations of having three Page Three sections to ogle at…

Day 7
After spending a week like a government employee (doing everything in triplicate), I realised that there really is such a thing as information overload. This is especially true for newspapers, where I’m not really choosing the content. Funnily, I didn’t seem to miss the RSS feeds the first day, but by Day 7, I was happily looking forward to going without the papers!

…and looking seriously at the screen

Day 1
The first thing I had to do was to go to my newspaper vendor and tell him I didn’t want papers for a week. He seemed surprised, and gave me the “First it’s give me three, now it’s none at all-make up your mind, will you” look. I sheepishly lied and said I was out of town for the week-much easier than explaining this article to him!

Day 3
It’s really hard. For someone who’s made it a morning ritual of reading the newspaper in the loo for 20-odd years, just stopping suddenly set my bio-rhythm haywire! I know there are a lot of people out there who will understand what I’m saying… Once at office, I was OK though. I just signed up for even more feeds using Google Reader.

Day 5
Thus far, I had mainly subscribed to specialised RSS content that suited my interests, and found that I also needed my fix of “other” news! I signed up for more general news feeds. The constant updates, and fresh news about once every five minutes, meant much more news in smaller doses. Plus, I had the advantage of seeming that I was hard at work!

Day 7
RSS feeds sure bring me a lot more news, in a more reader-friendly way, and just seem to be more interesting-because I choose what I subscribe to, obviously. However, what do I do when I’m at home, on a bus, taking a break, or basically anywhere away from my computer? There’s always the thumbs to twiddle, of course…


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