Being on holiday does evil things to my RSS feed.
I like to keep abreast of the relevant literature as it is published (read: comes online), and RSS is a great way of doing that. But when I’ve had a break from the work Mac (if not actually from work) then it’s a bit depressing to find thirteen hundred items across my various feeds—and that’s before looking at all the weblogs in the ‘Personal’ toolbar folder.
While the first day back in the lab/office is usually spent deleting emails I’ve already read and catching up with gossip/hiding from the boss, that is an imperial shedload of reading to do, even if it is reduced to skimming titles. With the surfeit of scientific information available today it’s becoming impossible to keep track of what’s being published even without time off: and if Web 2.0 means that we’ll be seeing yet more published items (pace Cameron and Jean-Claude ) then it’s just going to get worse.
And this is why search-based methods are so popular. Instead of browsing various journals once a week for interesting stuff, it makes more sense to construct a search, let the computer take the strain, and get the results mailed back to you (or delivered in your RSS reader). This is the way my new gig, Faculty of 1000, is going: browsing will be possible but we want you to search, rather than simply hoping for something interesting to fall out and smack you in the face.
How we actually do that is part of my brief. I also want to somehow retain the major advantage of browsing, which is how we stumble across interesting things that we weren’t necessarily specifically looking for.
Reading weblogs is going to be pretty refactory to the search-based method, however. I see them as more of an archived on-going conversation-type thing, and the algorithm that says, ‘Oi, rpg: you might find this interesting’ isn’t ready for prime-time yet. I did, this morning, mark all the ‘personal’ stuff in my RSS feed as read, too; so if you’ve written something you think I would have been interested in but I haven’t done you the honour of commenting, then please let me know.
And speaking of weblogs, I’ll be talking with various people in the next few weeks and hoping to set one up at F1000. I’ll let you know when it’s live.
I filter everything based on other people’s opinions/recommendations. I have Twitter, Friendfeed, and Google Reader set up so that I can look at certain people’s contributions first. Some people are my friends, but are either way too productive online or interested in totally different topics than me, so I still want to follow them, but I’ve filtered them out of the main thing I see to avoid going insane. (I hope it’s not too late!) I started doing that when I was super-stressed and kind of like the manageable amount of information.
On Twitter I can still see if someone outside of the group I’m tracking leaves me a reply with my (user!!)name in it, and on FriendFeed I can see the popular people’s contributions if one of the people I’m tracking comments on it, so in the end it filters out nicely. And I can easily add and remove people on a whim without having to “unfriend” anyone.
And in your absence I posted a video on easternblot that your kids might like (based on previous stories about things that change colour), but you’ll probably end up having them calculate pK values on a napkin if you show it.
Oh that’s brilliant!
And it reminds me—I received a letter (on paper!) from my ‘A’ Level chemistry teacher, in response to an article I wrote for Chemistry World. I’ll write about that next, I think.
(And yes, you’re probably sadly correct about the pK values…)
Another way to keep abreast passively is via topic-specific portals. For example, I’ve found the Cell Migration Gateway really useful for highlighting new research that I’ve missed.
Been meaning to comment on your Chemistry World writings! Closet chemist eh?
My concern about relying on searching is that you miss the interesting not-quite-related-yet-relevant/inspiring paper. I can search for ‘dendrimer’ each week and quickly survey the latest publications in the field, but without occasional drifts through tables of contents and the like, I miss some really cool science that is useful but doesn’t come up on keyword search.
Searching has to be intelligent as well, take different spellings. I regularly search for ‘molecular modelling’, ‘molecular modeling’, and get different hit sets for each spelling. The system needs to know that these are the same thing, or we should standardize/se English.
Ah, Jenny, why now, only now, do I discover such wondrousness?
Yes Katherine… chemistry was always favourite at school but I was lured to the dark side. Biochemistry at Oxford was very chemistry-heavy, fortunately.
The ‘interesting not-quite-related-yet-relevant/inspiring paper’ is always going to be tricky, even with browsing. That’s where the community comes in useful, I guess. And as for the ‘system’, that’s what computational nerds are for, surely? It’s their problem!
*nods in agreement
I’ve actually completely given up on RSS, which I was reading via NewsGator, for exactly this reason. In fact, mere microseconds after jumping on the RSS bandwagon (and I’m looking right at you, Dr. Grant, for making the introduction), I started whining about it
As I do.
As for things that you haven’t read, I thought you might at least slightly appreciate this one
Happy New Year, with caveats obviously.
Ah. Yes. Thanks RW.
And funnily enough, I do have the CMG in my RSS. How many more acronyms can I use?
FriendFeed has certainly streamlined much of the way I take in information. Some keyword searching via Google Reader fills in the gaps.
Cameron and Jean-Claude are web 2.0. You’ve blown the secret.
Does that mean you have to shoot me now?
Now if we could just get Sydney University to subscribe to F1000…
Please do!
Let’s see.
You blagged/blogged a round the world ticket from them.
I work for them for free and a library card.
I think you have the more persuasive manner.
For my next trick I will persuade an Australian to stand a round at the pub…
Did I explain what the Australian Haka is?
hahahhaah
no, but I’m sure you’d like to :)
The Haka, as mostly known to the rest of the world because of the All Blacks rugby team, is a ceremonial challenge or greeting specific to New Zealand Maori (but with many similar examples from throughout the pacific). Youtube “All Black Haka” for many fine examples including this one http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMCAV6Yd0Y&feature=related
The Australian Haka is the typical response when an Australian male is challenged in a bar that it’s his turn to buy the drinks. It involves standing up and patting all of your pockets repeatedly and chanting “where’s my wallet. where’s my wallet”
which reminds me… We need a meeting of the Sydney Hub. My round.
Fair enough. How could I say no to that. Time and place?
Thursday evening? How far do you want to travel?
The Royal near the Uni?
By the mini-roundabout? Sounds good to me.
Anyone else in Sydney?
Shall we say 6pm?
http://www.royal.com.au/Royal_/Contact_Us.html
Splendid.