Common Craft: RSS in Plain English
Do you visit more than one website? Keep tabs on several different blogs to see if anything new has been posted? Do you like having all your favorite blogs/wikis/news show up in one single interface? If you answered yes to any of these then you will definitely like what RSS can do for you.
What is RSS? Usually, it’s known as "Rich Site Summary," though even those simple words can’t convey what it can do. RSS by itself is just a bunch of code and, to the naked eye, nothing to make your heart flutter. At its core, RSS provides a way for web site content–be that blog posts, news as they happen, continually updated online content–to be syndicated, or published, as a continued stream as it happens.
Example of a RSS feed:
So how do you use RSS? By using a news reader! That’s where the magic starts! A news reader (also called aggregators and feed readers) configures this newly updated stream of code into a flesh and font and readable website.
How a news reader renders that code:
So we can see that RSS is really just a way to feed newly updated bits of code into a readable format using a news reader. You can subscribe to many different RSS feeds. If you see these icons on a website/blog/wiki/etc:
then that means that website has RSS feeds available that you can subscribe to using your news reader.
There are free and paid news readers available, with leading online news readers available via Google Reader and Bloglines.
Class Resources
- Wikipedia on Aggregators
- How to explain RSS the Oprah Way
- LIS Wiki – RSS
- LIS Wiki – Organizational Weblogs
- Other ways to use RSS Feeds
Class Assignment
- Sign up for a news reader account using Google Reader (used in the video above) or Bloglines.
- If you don’t want to use Google or Bloglines, have a look at other types of readers available (free, paid, desktop based, RSS via your e-mail, etc.) at this website: Feed Readers via DMOZ (Open Directory Project)
- Once you have your reader ready, subscribe to this blog: http://www.loc.gov/blog/
- You can find other library-related blogs at the LIS (Library and Information Science) Wiki.
Once you subscribe to several websites you will only have to visit your particular reader to see if any new content has been published. It’s that simple. What’s even better is that most of the advertising prevalent in a lot of blogs and websites is absent if you read the post using your news reader. Truly, a cool thing.
…that it could be a time suck but if it ever becomes too much you can always unsubscribe from those time-suck sites. You’re in charge so change what you don’t like 🙂
And glad to help. Any time we learn ways to make the web work for us is a good thing. Keep at it!
Thanks so much. This is helpful.
RSS works great! I am learning more about it as I go along and being a fairly non-techno person am also happy to find I am less nervous to just try things, see how they go, etc.
Thanks for the support too.
Very informative & easy.
It’s so easy I should have been “Ready for Some Stories” sooner!
Diane, you’re right that at first it may seem like a lot to keep up with, but I assure you it gets easier. In Google Reader you can use “List View” to just show the headline of the post/article. I find that a great way to pick the ones that look interesting and ignore the ones that don’t. You’d be surprised how quickly I can get done with my 342 subscriptions (OK, not THAT quickly, but you do get attuned to scan for the good stuff and discard the rest).
Thanks for sharing! SLJ also provides an RSS feed in their Twitter account: http://twitter.com/sljournal
That’s one of the great thing about RSS, you can read them in just about any form (desktop, web-based, mail-based, etc.). It’s what makes it so great: provide the content regardless of the tool you use to read them.
Hi Sharon – Yes, Google thinks you ought to be friends and share your stuff with anyone–they’re nosy that way. However, once in Gooogle Reader you can change your “Shared Items” settings by clicking on “Sharing settings” on the top left-hand side of the page. Similarly, you can “sign out” of chat from your Google Mail account. Here’s a link to the Help section on the “Sharing” issue: http://tinyurl.com/5579yq. Hope this helps. Good luck!
I use Outlook for the feeds I subscribe to and can manage them fairly well using my email folders. School Library Journal has some very useful feeds for those who want to keep up with SLJ content.
I just listened and read again for the second time. I think I understand it better…..I did get signed up on google reader and with the library of congress. Looks very interesting…. see you again soon
i thought it was going to be very hard but no, i was wrong. it was very fun and pretty easy. Had a good time trying to learn about RSS. following the step and it went fast.
Okay…I set up a couple of feeds in the Google Reader, and now have a bizillion articles. How do I delete those once I’m finished with them?? I marked all as read and refreshed the window, but they are still there.
At first I thought this seemed like just another time-suck, but it is not a bad way to get some fast headlines… gotta be careful about what you subscribe, too, though, or it could be constant information overload!
Jeri, bummer about the nonworking computers! If and when you get access to the web you can certainly view the video(s) from the Commoncraft Show in YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/leelefever . Or pick up their RSS feed at http://feeds.feedburner.com/CommonCraft, that way you will be notified once new videos are made. I don’t use MySpace (shocker, huh?) but you can probably pick up feeds from there. Either way, it’s worth checking out the rest of their videos, especially the Zombie one 🙂
Mrs. H, You can’t delete any of them; they remain in the Google servers should you want to re-read something from long ago, or search for a particular post. It’s one of those Google Reader things.
However, I got this from the Google Reader http://tinyurl.com/5nx9d3 forums
:
”
Hope this helps 🙂
Glad to read that, Jean. Simple is beautiful, no?
Have you played with the new iGoogle “canvas view”? I’m still getting used to it but think I’m going to like it as now I’m able to have all my Google services in one place. It’s even more convenient, if that’s possible 😀 . Thanks for playing, Katie!
Glad to hear it, Carole!
It was pretty easy to do and follow. I guess you learn something new everyday!
I feel overwhelmed just trying to get my email read! I subscribed to an RSS directly to my work email and I also subcribed to one to show directly on my igoogle page. I noticed that there was a “reader” but I chose to have it on my homepage. Handy if you regularly check websites but I try to keep it simple. Overload is easy to achieve.
RSS feeds are convenient, but as Sara said, it’s easy to overload. I wound up unsubbing from several blogs that were too busy for me. One other thing I’ve noticed is that I could not subscribe to our staff blog…I finally figured out it was because it was set to ‘private’. This was good incentive to look at other readers (think I still like Google best). I did put a google reader gadget on my igoogle page (aka my brains…calendar, to do list, email previews, etc). The gadget shows the subject line and I can click on that and it shows me all or most of a post, then I can click to the actual blog if I want to read more or respond.
I LOVE it. I am having so much fun with it, it was so easy to set up. Way to go. Thanks
I just don’t think I would have a use for this at this point in my life. I don’t follow any feeds so this isn’t something I would want to use right now, but maybe at some point I would want to use it. It does sound like it is great for all those who follow a lot of sites. I will keep it in mind for when I get to that point.
Had a difficult time learning this new task. I finally figured out how to copy and past the URL. It is amazing how easy it is when you finally do it correctly. I am still exploring sites that offer RSS to place on my blogline.
This has been a good mental workout. This does not come easily and I have no kids left at home to help. Yikes!
Love bloglines. I am subscribed to 143 blogs right now. Sure makes it easier to check everyday.
Mary
This could be a useful tool in keeping up with what is happening all in one place to look.
This is super!!!! I went in to my Google Reader account today and wa la – the feeds I subscribed to were there. It just to seconds to get updated. I really like this.
I can’t see a need for this with what I do now. However, I did study and learn about RSS and so it all helps.
I like using folders (library, graphic design, web technologies, etc.) to categorize my feeds. Helps me keep them organized and can pick the one folder topic I feel like reading at the moment.
Glad to see you trying and playing with Google Reader. The folks at Commoncraft have this other video you may find helpful: Google Reader in Plain English: http://www.commoncraft.com/reader
JaNeil – The concept is still the same: getting the content come to you. You’re ready!
Hey Memo,
Thanks for this cool guide to the world of RSS. I have actually been using my Google Reader for some time to follow blogs I like but I did not realize that by doing so I was actually using RSS! Go figure…this is probably why I always need help with technology questions! 😉
Anyhow, I’ve signed up for the LOC blog and thank you again!
I feel like someone learning a new language – totally in a new realm. I’ve subscribed to a reader and RSS feeds. I think I am ready?
I started with Bloglines but liked the then-new single-headline view feature in Google Reader. I still use both Bloglines & Google Reader, depending on my mood. My feeds will not go away and will wait for me…forever.
One cool feature is that the “old” feeds never go away, so you can still read them, or search them, or “star” favorite posts to read them later. Good stuff, eh?
You rock!
I love having one place for all updates. To avoid overload, I have one “Must Read” category that I check nearly every day, and the rest fall into topic-based categories. Those I check only when I’ve got some free time. That way, the “Unread Items” count doesn’t drive me batty!
I set up a couple of RSS feeds in my Outlook a couple of weeks ago…but thought I would try setting up google reader just for the experience. It’s cool! I also like viewing news blurbs without having to hash through the junk, Memo, and RSS provides a convenient way to become informed about whatever interests one might have in a time efficient manner. In this information age…time IS of the essence!
Hello,
Due to problems we are having with our computers as far as videos playing, sound, and stuff like that I haven’t been able to view the video on RSS, and I know this is the last week for this. I guess I could go onto Youtube and view the video at a later time? Thanks Memo Cordova for putting this together for us!
Jeri
ps… I have a space on my space and a person can go onto the RSS section and view it, which I did yesterday and oh wow I think I just answered my own question…. hey Memo, would you be able to send me this video on RSS via myspace? If so you can find me under jeri rardin. I also do Blogging via myspace.
Have a great weekend. 🙂
You can flag any SPLAT member by e-mail or chat if you need help. Depending on your interests, a RSS directory service may come in handy, such as DMOZ (an open directory): http://tinyurl.com/6qqzre . Another option would be to browse Bloglines’ “Top 1000” RSS link on the bottom left of your Bloglines account (once you log in, of course). Have fun discovering!
You hit it on the nose, Marcy.
Not as hard as it looked at first. BUT I don’t understand the part where my “chat” friends on my G mail can view everything on my “reader”. I didn’t know I HAD a chat friend, but don’t like the idea of someone choosing them to look at my whatever, when I haven ‘t chosen that they look at it. Plus, I’m sure I’ve never “chatted” with anyone on line.
Hey, Mert, my grandma always said you had to learn one new thing a day to not get stagnant so I guess you’re on your way! I learned also. Now, if I can add the sites I want to see regularly I will be a happy camper!
Success! I think this is a really neat way to keep up with favorites, and I can certainly see some good potential for providing bundles for book groups, and other patron programs. It does appear that it could end up demanding quite a bit of time for someone to keep up to date information listed for various library groups. I find that we are so busy at the library that I’m doing these exercises on my home computer. Perhaps it will just take practice to get going faster???