BackBulb.com - A Model for the AOS

[epiphyte]

Some time ago I ran across the BackBulb.com website and was really impressed with all of the great information that it contained. After a little while I kind of forgot about it until just recently I ran across it again and noticed that now there is even more great information. This time though, I've got the perfect tool to stay up to date when new information is added to the backbulb blog... RSS for Orchid Growers

Another source of orchid information is the AOS Orchids magazine. It's arguably the most important benefit of being a member of the AOS. The magazine contains some really great content...but unfortunately...most of us in the orchid community do not have access to it because of the high cost of AOS membership...which reflects the high cost of publishing the magazine.

The thing is...with around 75% of Americans using the internet...is the current magazine format really the best structure for the AOS to share their orchid information? Definitely not!

Hands down...Google Reader by far provides the best structure for the AOS orchid information. It's completely free, super convenient, easy to use and very flexible. This page I put together contains a list of some orchid related websites that you can RSS subscribe to... RSS for Orchid Growers.

In case any of you are wondering...I don't receive a single penny by promoting Google Reader (unfortunately!)...but my motivation isn't 100% altruistic either. As more and more orchid growers come to realize how outdated the AOS's current magazine format is (especially when compared to Google Reader)...then hopefully demand for Google Reader content will help lead to the transition of the AOS content to a format that is compatible with Google Reader...and accessible to considerably more people in the orchid community...myself included

The transition does not have to be difficult or complicated. Creating a blog is easy and free...the AOS already has a blog for their Affiliated Societies...which you can RSS subscribe to. All they need to do is to create blogs for their articles. They could either create one blog for all their articles or they could create separate blogs for different categories. Or, they could help create blogs for everybody who regularly submits articles for the Orchids magazine.

In order to help imagine all the possibilities I highly recommend RSS subscribing to the BackBulb.com blog. Please let me know if you have any questions!