One of the things I found most bizarre in all the discussion surrounding the cancellation of Google Reader is that some people (including, apparently, some who work at Google) seem to think that social media is a suitable replacement for a feed reader. As though we're perfectly content with reading whatever our internet friends choose to share and have no need whatsoever to curate our own reading list.
Today my shower gave me an analogy:
I've just caught up on the Inspector Gamache series, and am waiting with bated breath for the next book to come out in August.
So suppose, on the release date in August, I walk into a bookstore and ask "Do you have the latest Inspector Gamache book?"
The bookstore worker answers, "Here are some books I read and enjoyed recently!"
That doesn't solve my problem, does it? I want to know what happened with Inspector Beauvoir. I want to know how (or whether) Peter and Clara's marriage is holding up. I want to find out who leaked the video.
The books the bookstore worker read and enjoyed recently won't address these needs. They may well be good books, I may well enjoy them, they may well end up being new favourites that I end up following diligently. But, even if I read and enjoy them all, I will still want to read the next Inspector Gamache.
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