Recently, I was browsing through my Google Reader RSS feed for a particular industry topic and become frustrated with the lack of quality and relevant content. I then turned to my Twitter network and had much better luck. This got me thinking about the relationship between RSS feeds, Twitter, and information flow and management overall.

This isn’t a novel idea – a quick Google search pulls up a number of articles on the topic. But I wanted to know how real people are using RSS feeds and Twitter. So, I decided to throw out the following idea to my Twitter (and Facebook) network:

As you can see below, the response was mixed.

Of course, this is not a substitute for scientific research – it’s only a handful of people from my professional and personal network. That being said, its value to me lies in the fact that these are people within my reach – a good mix of personal friends, colleagues and other professionals I’ve connected with for one reason or another.

So, are RSS feeds dead? No, I don’t believe so – at least not yet. However, I do think that the way we receive information is changing, and that includes RSS feeds. Not only are your Twitter contacts bringing new, relevant content to your attention, but you can also get information straight from the source as nearly every publication out there has at least one Twitter account. In fact, many are linked to their own RSS feeds – easily providing the same content without the added hassle of a RSS reader.

Taking it one step further, you can even set up RSS feeds from Twitter searches to pull in all content on a specific topic. For example, say you want to keep track of comments and news about the upcoming green building show, West Coast Green. A simple search using the #WCG hashtag gives you a real-time conversation:

Signing up for this RSS feed is now just as simple as clicking on “Feed for this query.” Of course, you can also get the same results from a Tweetdeck search, but I can see the value of separate RSS feeds if you’re looking at more than just one or two topics at a time.

Bottom line? What happens next is partly dependent on us and how we take advantage of the real-time information flow from services like Twitter. With a host of management tools available, anyone can create a powerful network and customized information flow (I’m a fan of Tweetdeck, but find what works for you). You just can’t get that level of customization or opportunities for social interactions from an RSS feed.

What about you? Do you check Google Reader or Tweetdeck every day? What other applications do you use? How do you manage the information flow?

Written by Rachel Marshall