Rss, feeds, readers, aggregator. It seems that every page in the web 2.0 world is filled with these words. But what do they mean, and how can knowing more about them benefit you?
Simply put, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a way for a site to deliver current information to subscribers without having to use more traditional methods like email. Another way of thinking about it is that by using RSS, you don't have to go to all of your favorite sites to find the latest information, rather the information comes to you. It is like having a subscription to a web page.
The best explanation of RSS is put together by the fine folks at Common Craft. Watch their video:
Now, lets start making RSS work for you.
Objectives:
- Learn what RSS is and how it works
- Learn about feed readers
Activities:
- The first thing you will need to do is sign up for a feed reader. Google Reader,
Bloglines, My Yahoo, and NewsGator, all make great readers. Google Reader is the one that we will use for this exercise. - The next step is to find some RSS feeds to subscribe to. Go visit your favorite blogs or news sites and look for the RSS icon (that is the little icon pictured on the newspaper at the top of this post). If you can't think of anything, try subscribing to this blog and to the Pollak Library blog. Following the example outlined in the above video, add the feeds to your reader. You may want to visit this database of RSS feeds and look for your favorite journal. If you are having trouble with Google reader, check out this video
- Lastly, post a reflection on your blog responding to the following: Can you think of any way that using RSS feeds might help the Pollak Library communicate with our community? Is there some way that we can use RSS feeds collectively to help us serve our patrons better? What are your thoughts? Was this useful?
-Mike
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