Thursday, December 23, 2004

Librarians have to know RSS now

Noah Wyle Gets RSS
Dude, I'm totally freakin' out over here. They just said something about RSS in TNT's The Librarian...


Yeah, I caught that too. I didn't bother blogging about it because I didn't think anyone else caught it or cared. I guess I was wrong.

TNT Groks RSS
So, I’m sitting here, watching The Librarian: Quest for the Spear on TNT. The main character, Flynn, played by Noah Wyle, is interviewing for a job as “The Librarian.” When asked about what he knows, the guy rambles off a series of seemingly-random information manipulation skills - inclduing knowledge of the Dewey Decimal system, how to search the Web, and (here’s where I had to do a double-take) set up an RSS feed. I have a recording of the clip here. You know the idea of syndication is hitting the mainstream when pseudo-geeks can rattle off an acronym without batting an eyelash. He even said “feed” in conjunction with “RSS,” which says to me that someone on the writing staff knows what they’re doing with it. Either that, or Noah, himself, is an RSS junkie like the rest of us.



Unreal. Totally unreal. I could be wrong, but I'd say that this is a first. Hearing about syndication in a news broadcast is one thing, but actually hearing it used in dialogue - in CONTEXT - is true legitimacy. To those who initially scoffed at the power of RSS, I say to you: enjoy your next Salisbury Crow TV dinner.

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