Back on the Pipe(s)

I really wish Yahoo! talked more about Pipes. I don’t know when I first started messing around with it, but it was probably shortly after Pipes was announced and showed up in one of my numerous RSS feeds. I couldn’t really figure out how I would use it. Then a year or so ago I came back again and created a custom feed for a faculty member and wondered why I wasn’t showing it to more people. It is really one of the coolest tools around for creating your own customized RSS feed. (I’m trying to put together a customized feed for Instructional Technology, if you have feed suggestions).

The number of pipes available and the range of functionality is astounding. You can create pipes that allow for user input or pipes that operate on CSV and other data files available on the Web. The funny thing is I don’t hear about Pipes by the year and it worries me that such an awesome tool may just disappear one day. Maybe I just am not moving in the circles where Pipes are common place, or maybe people just take them for granted. But I think I’d like to get more faculty playing with Pipes and thinking about creative ways they could be used in education. What about digital storytelling with Pipes? Bryan? Alan?

Edit: Based on the related posts it looks like I rediscover Pipes about once a year. I find that amusing and sad.