What is RSS and Why Should I Care?

presented by Marianne Lenox   
Staff Training and Development Coordinator    
Huntsville Madison County Public Library   

July 2005   

 

updated for Google Docs   

May 2008   

for RSS Awareness Day   

 

 

This online course qualifies for One Training Credit. After you've navigated through the class (including reviewing the external links and videos), just forward your assignment to me via email. Follow the arrows (or just scroll down) to go through the material. Let me know if you have any questions!


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3. So...What is RSS?  

 

RSS is a family of Extensible Markup Language (XML)
which allows you to subscribe, or syndicate, content from the web.


 

4. So...What is RSS? (Con't)   

 

 

Ever notice a little orange button on a web page with "RSS" in white letters? That is a link to that page's RSS file.

 

The acronym "RSS" actually has several meanings, depending on when and how the document was written:

  • Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
  • RDF Site Summary (RSS 0.9, 1.0 and 1.1)
  • Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
[Cite]


5. Cool things you can do with RSS   

 

 

 

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6. How will I know?  

 

You may see several different types of indicators where an RSS feed is available. Standards are moving toward this global symbol:

 

 

  

 

 

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7. What Does an RSS Feed Look Like?   

 
 


8. Ack! I Can't Read That!   

You'll need an aggregator to view your RSS subscriptions.

A news aggregator is a software application, webpage or service that collects syndicated content from disparate sources and provides a consolidated view. Such applications are also referred to as feed readers, feed aggregators or simply aggregators.

Check out allrss.com for a complete list of aggregators. I recommend a free web-based aggregator because you can access it from any internet-ready computer and also because we have a policy preventing us from downloading applications to our staff computers.

 

 
 


9. Introducing Bloglines

Bloglines is a FREE online service for searching, subscribing, creating and sharing news feeds, blogs and rich web content. With Bloglines, there is no software to download or install -- simply register as a new user and you can instantly begin accessing your account any time, from any computer or mobile device. And it's FREE!

 

 

Related Video:

How to Organize & Track Favorite Blogs
http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com This is an introductory tutorial about how to use Bloglines.com to organize and keep track of your favorite blogs...
 
  
 



10. Introducing Google Reader 

The amount of information on the web is rapidly increasing. Google Reader helps you keep up with it all by organizing and managing all the content you're interested in. Instead of continuously checking your favorite sites for updates, you can let Google Reader do it for you. From news sites to your friends' blogs, Google Reader helps you keep up-to-date with all the online information that matters most to you.
Google Reader screenshot, as of 30 September 2007
 
 
Related Video:  Google Reader Tutorial
A short tutorial on using Google's RSS aggregator to find information on given topics.
 
 
 

 
 


11. Introducing PageFlakes 

Pageflakes is an Ajax-based start page similar to Netvibes, My Yahoo!, iGoogle, and Microsoft Live. The site is organized into tabs, each tab containing user-selected modules called Flakes. Each Flake varies in content; information such as RSS/Atom feeds, Calendar, Notes, Web search, weather forecast, del.icio.us bookmarks, Flickr photos, social networking tools like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, email and user-created modules.
[cite ]
 
The default start page
 

        

        Related Video: Pageflakes, A brief tutorial on Pageflakes.






12. Why is RSS Important?   

  1. RSS is one of the hottest and most talked about technology developments affecting the Internet [cite]
  2. It puts you in control of the information you receive, inevitably saving you time and narrowing your searches [cite]
  3. Allows any group or individual to syndicate their own content [cite]
  4. Can help relieve "Information Overload" [cite]
  5. Most likely answer to Email Spam [cite]

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13. Rss is Everywhere 

Watch for content developers to design around RSS functionality...

 

From 2005: "Google, MSN and Yahoo are, over time, turning into RSS Aggregators." [cite] Mac's new operating system, "Tiger" integrates an ulta-cool RSS Screensaver. The Mac browser Safari has a built in aggregator shows an "RSS" icon in the location bar when it auto-detects an RSS feed for the page. [cite] Microsoft confirms RSS plans. "A beta version of Internet Explorer 7 for XP will be available this summer, around the same time Microsoft releases the first beta version of Longhorn, which will include an integrated browser." [cite]

Now even phones have feeds. [cite ]
 
2008 is the Year of RSS. "Ease of use will be greatly enhanced with discovery and filtering mechanisms to help you find new content and sort/organize the feeds you already subscribe to."



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14. Notable Quote 

 

"RSS is emerging as the next great tool in the spread of information and ultimately freedom: freedom of expression, freedom of communication and freedom of information."
- RSS Venture Capitalist Jim Moore, 07/09/05

[cite]
 
 
 
 
 
 


15. Class Assignment  

 

Use any one of the RSS tools that I've shown you today: create a Bloglines, Google Reader or PageFlakes  account, receive a feed via email, and print and send the page or send an email with a link to your public page.

Please feel free to call or email Marianne if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.

 

 

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16. Credits  

The delivery method for this presentation is based on a concept by Librarian.net's Jessamyn West and was created in HTML using CSS. The content, layout, and stylesheet are available to borrow via a share and share alike creative commons license. The original source code is available for download here.
Marianne Lenox adapted the presentation for Google Documents and you are welcome to use it as your own template, with credit. Changes to the frame borders and headings may be made via 'Edit > CSS.'
 

There was no PowerPoint involved in this presentation except as a nagging bad example.