RSS Feeds - are they good or bad?

After some false starts, where I tried to do more than was expected (or possible), and having discovered that Chrome doesn't automatically display RSS Feeds,  I installed 'Feedly' into my Chrome Browser and entered into their wild and wonderful world.

Recipe RSS (RSS Number 1)

The first feed I have subscribed to is a recipe blog. Great because I like to eat, so this is like a fix every day and, because it is written by an American, Elise Bauer, the foods they eat, and the combinations, are interesting to say the least!

The site I found it on is http://www.simplyrecipes.com/ and she goes some way to describe her motivation for setting up the blog in the first place, and goes on to inform about the awards her blog has won, and how popular it has become.

 In case you are interested enough to want to take a look, the latest recipe is for these, delicious looking, Chocolate Chunk Cookies

This blog could be of use to Hospitality Students in search for some 'off-the-wall' inspiration for their menus.

Self Help RSS (RSS Number 2)

Following this I found another blog that interested me and added it to my growing list of sources of information. This one is called Dumb Little Man (http://www.dumblittleman.com/index.html), and purports to give 'Tips for Life'

It is full of Lifestyle Advice and Self Help Inspiration with articles called 'How to get off your Butt and Start Running this Spring' and 'Why Motivation is Overrated'. 

Having already said that this blog might interest me, I think I have changed my mind and will delete it. All a little too David Icke for me .....

Buxton Opera House RSS (RSS Number 3)

Finally, by way of a total change, I looked for an RSS Feed that would give information from the arts. I searched, using Google, for Opera Feeds, and found this one, which gives data regarding forthcoming shows.

It lists the next 4 shows, in chronological order, so that you can see if there is anything that you might fancy attending, and hopefully give you the time to get tickets.

Conclusion

All in all it seems that RSS Feeds can be useful if you want to keep abreast of news from certain areas without having the hassle of actually having to go to the site in question. I feel that in an academic sense it could be good if the student needs to be kept abreast of any changes to the object of their research. maybe they would be looking at a holiday company and want to know when the brochures are going to change, or if they are studying Performing Arts to be informed as to dates of shows etc. Hospitality students woule benefit from a recipe Feed, or from looking at hotel chains etc.

Too many, of course, will just confuse and distract them, so I think that it is a question of balance. I can see numerous sports students glued to the RSS Feeds from their favourite football teams, to the detriment of their studies, but this is always the case for students on less academic courses.