Company LOGO Blogs & RSS: Saving Time Through Aggregation Michael Sauers, Librarian, Trainer & Writer NV DAWG :: 06 May 2005

What is a blog? A blog, short for weblog (pronounced we blog) is an online journal in which the postings are presented in reverse- chronological order. Typically blogs contain links to other online resources with additional commentary from the blogs author.

Why should your department have a blog? Theyre an easy way to provide information about whats happening in your department/division. Little to no (X)HTML experience necessary. Combined with RSS feeds its another way for users to receive timely information about what youre doing.

How do I create a blog? There are several services and software packages out there that make creating a blog easy. The two most popular are: –MoveableType (client) –Blogger (Web service)

Blogger

What is RSS? Depending on who you ask it stands for either Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary, or RDF Site Summary. RSS is an XML language for syndicating news items on the Internet.

How does RSS work? The author creates an RSS file. Users subscribe to the file via an aggregator. When the author updates the RSS file, the user is automatically notified of the new items and may read them on their schedule.

Are there different versions of RSS? Yes. In fact, there are currently nine different versions: RSS 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, 0.93, 0.94, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 & Atom Feeds Each has different features from the authors point of view. Todays aggregators support all of the versions transparently.

What does RSS look like? BCR: The Third Indicator The Third Indicator, published monthly, is a technical memo focusing on OCLC products and services. It includes general OCLC news as well as detailed technical information on cataloging, reference and resource sharing. Announcements of new OCLC developments are also included. Tue, 21 Sep :37:39 GMT ListGarden Program WorldCat Resource Sharing Training If you'd like to see what WorldCat Resource Sharing looks like and learn more about it, visit the OCLC Web site at or view the WorldCat Resource Sharing tutorial at www5.oclc.org/downloads/tutorials/firstsearch/sv/rsbasics/intro/index.html/. Tue, 21 Sep :29:47 GMT thirdind

What is an aggregator? A news aggregator is a software or a remotely hosted service that periodically reads a set of news sources, in one of several XML-based formats, finds the new bits, and displays them in reverse- chronological order on a single page. Wikipedia Its what you need to read RSS feeds.

What are the different types of aggregators? Standalone Clients –FeedReader, Radio UserLand PIM add-ins –Pluck, NewsGator, intraVnews Browser add-ins –Firefox 1.0PR, Sage Web-based –Bloglines, NewsIsFree A list is

FeedReader

Pluck

Firefox 1.0

Bloglines

How can I find feeds? Feedster Bloglines Blogrolls A list of blogs/feeds read by another blogger

How do I subscribe to a feed? Look for an orange icon: Depending on your aggregator, the subscription procedure may range from copying and pasting the link to right- clicking and selecting subscribe.

How do I create a feed? Hand-rolled You type the markup and the content Semi-automated You type the content, software generates the markup. (ListGarden) Fully-automated You put the content in your blog and software generates a feed based on that content. LISFeeds.com)

ListGarden

Blogger

The Blog/RSS Cycle Blog Post Feed Item Aggregator Fetch User Subscribes User Reads The Blog/RSS Cycle

Notable government blogs, feeds & resources RSS in Government :: GovTrack.us :: Missouri Agency News :: Santa Clara Valley Water District :: mation/_Perchlorate%20pages/Perchlorate_in_the_News.cfm mation/_Perchlorate%20pages/Perchlorate_in_the_News.cfm National Institutes of Health: News & Events ::

RSS Services (X)HTML Validator Package Tracking The Annotated NY Times del.icio.us LibraryElf