I Want an RSS Feed of my Grocery List- and More

If you haven't noticed, I like widgets. I would eat them for breakfast if I could. After reading this post, you might think this is possible. Widgets covered in RSS syrup with a side of permalinks- how does that sound?

RSS is becoming an art form. What can you create an RSS feed out of these days? Almost anything. I have trouble sleeping lately thinking about the possibilities. Last week I found a way to create an RSS feed out of the books that I read. Look below, right and you'll see a feed widget I created on www.widgetbox.com that shows my latest reads and reviews from my visual bookshelf. Widgetbox is my favorite new place to put my RSS feeds. Go there if you like widgets. But do you really care about what I'm reading? Well, I think some people may. If I were another tech teacher, I might be interested in where another tech teacher gets their inspiration.

It's All About Behavior
Lately I've been thinking about all of our online behavior. Social bookmarking, social networking, twittering, work, all of it- and I realize something: all of our behaviors can be represented by an RSS feed, whether it be online or not. In fact, there are some of our behaviors that I have not yet seen represented by RSS, that I think could be extremely helpful to others. We put these widgets in our sidebar because we want to offer our behavior and thoughts to others. So- it occured to me the other day: why not my grocery list? Most of our online behavior is linked to our lifestyle choices, our habits, our hobbies: why can't our eating and exercise behavior be learned from as well (in an RSS feed)?

For me, I am a healthy eater, for the most part, but I really like how one of my friends eats. She eats everything organic, she's never sick, and she looks really healthy. I want to subscribe to her grocery list. Or at least see what she's eating. I need an RSS feed for her grocery list!

Now- I also like how healthy one of our gym teacher's arms look. Very strong and cut. I want to subscribe to his arm workout via RSS.

And then I thought- this is totally possible! I use Peapod! Let's see if this can work....I'll go to www.peapod.com, and I'll find the RSS feed of my grocery list! The applications for something like this are enormous.

And then I thought of more possibilities: why can't I make an RSS feed from my gym workout as well? Why would I do that, you say? What if my personal trainer (I don't really have one) was able to monitor the RSS feed of my grocery list? Could he make adjustments to my workout based on that information? Then peapod.com could make recommendations of food based on my workout history and health feed (needs more protein, cut the carbs). Or perhaps one of those fitness web sites could analyze my food intake simply by how often I eat and how often I have to "replenish" my grocery supply for my home? I could manage my weight problem (I don't really have one) with RSS! Or my doctor could subscribe to make sure my (entirely made up) blood pressure problem was not being affected by my diet. What if, what if?

Ahhh, RSS. The possibilities. The 21st Century will be all about subscriptions.

Did it work?
Alas, this entire charade can now rest. For when I go to Peapod, I cannot burn an RSS feed of my list, and Peapod doesn't offer that info in RSS.

Darn.

So I guess my made up personal trainer, at this point, can't create that RSS feed about my fictional workout to help me from my fictional weight problem.

RSS Possibilities For Education
Do you see the possibilities, though? When it comes to education and my students, I'm beginning to see the value in all of their behavior. What could we do as teachers with that valuable information? If one student is having trouble in school, could that student subscribe to the "more successful" student's feeds? If another student is having trouble focusing, could they subscribe to the RSS feeds of the focused student? Could it help?

Why not?




















Thanks to Eileen Dehli on Flickr for this photo.
Thanks to afiler as well for this photo.

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