Do Purple Cows graze on gRaSS?

I previously suggested that instead of aggregating or subscribing to RSS feeds we'll soon be mostly 'feed glancing'. I don't know if I explained it too well but at least Kosso seemed to grok it. However, I'm now wondering if it might be better to use the term 'feed grazing' instead. Afterall, one definition of 'graze' is "to feed on herbage in a field". Another is "to touch lightly in passing".

And that's exactly what OPML browsing, RSS reading applications like OPod and Taskable allow us to do with RSS feeds. We could even think of a feed as an individual blade of grass. An OPML file (or Reading List) is then a mouthful of grass where the fresh herbage (new RSS items) at the top are consumed.

The important point is that the cow doesn't eat the grass down to the root. She does not subscribe. She does not aggregate. Rather she moves on to another fresh patch for further grazing. She may then return to the first clump at a later date, when there is fresh growth (new RSS items). Of course it will hardly be the exact same cluster of blades so it is in effect a Reading List - a dynamic OPML file.

• Blade of Grass = RSS feed
• Clump of Grass = OPML file (Reading List)
• Cow = Feed Grazer

Feed Grazing will come into its own in an RSS-everywhere world. Of course, we'll always subscribe to a core set of critical feeds but for the vast majority of data blades in our information pasture, we'll just graze.

Its enough to make a Purple Cow green ;-)

Comments

[Bela]

Very witty! I was actually grazing as I came upon this post. As often happens, my grazing turns to furious pulling of blades of grass, as I folow the trail from one blade to another!
-Bela

[James Corbett]

Aha, now there's another metaphor to be use for a future post - cowpaths! ;-)