Walt on RSS…again

October 12th, 2004

The latest Cites & Insights has yet another essay on RSS (see page 5). In it, Walt (again) mentions that he is old and (again) mentions that he thinks that RSS is not all-encompassing. This is the same “old” stuff that he has talked about on numerous issues in his e-zine. Nothing new except for the fact that Walt has now decided that RSS has some merit in his daily reads (He points out that it takes him less time to read more weblog content - something that I have pointed out on many presentations and weblog posts - and he gives me credit for that). He could have made this essay fit one half of his double columned page by not mentioning the stuff that he has already talked about on numerous occasions.

Walt is a “different strokes for different folks” type of person, which I have no problem with. He also is, whether he believes it himself or not, an innovator. He writes what he believes in and I (as one of his biggest fans) appreciate that. The fact that he believes that RSS is not for everyone is fine. As Gary Price and I have said to one another on many occasions, “whatever works for you”. I don’t, however, think it’s an “old thing”. Rory is not that much older than myself and doesn’t like library blogs (and I assume RSS) for his own special reasons. Fine. I get it. But don’t make it an age thing Walt. Age has nothing to do with it.

In his piece on blogging (see page 19), Walt says:

“I’ve made fun of Jenny Levine a lot and Steven Cohen a little. Chances are, I’ll do so in the future. I also respect what both of them bring to the party. We can’t all explore every new thing; we can learn from those who do. I’m not as enthusiastic about anything as I used to be, I suspect, and that may be the most negative consequence of getting older. I appreciate the enthusiasm of others, particularly when they’re willing to consider the possibility that they’ve gone overboard (and I definitely include Levine and Cohen in the category of those willing to consider such possibilities). Without enthusiasm and the willingness to explore new avenues that might or might not succeed, the field will stagnate.”

While I appreciate his remarks about my enthusiasm, I don’t think that I have gone overboard at all with RSS. I speak for myself (and not for Jenny) that when I believe in something so strongly as I do for RSS, I get excited. And why not. RSS is something to get excited about. If Walt doesn’t think so (and I’m semi-implying that he doesn’t), then tell that to the New York Times, Reuters, and the many other huge content conglomerates that are now utilizing RSS to deliver their information. Excited, in this case, does not mean overboard. Walt himself says that without enthusiasm, our profession will stagnate (I agree 100%). I don’t think I’ve crossed the line from excitedness and enthusiasm to overboard.

Or maybe I have and can’t (or won’t) admit it to myself and I’m just getting old and grumpy like Walt…

Nah.

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