Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is at the core of social media, which is why this course is among the first in the Social Media University, Global curriculum.
In essence, RSS is a way you can subscribe to get updates (RSS feeds or “Web feeds”) from Web sites that interest you. All you need is an RSS aggregator or feed reader (and you may have one built into your Web browser already!) If you’re using Firefox or IE7 for Windows, you have the ability to subscribe to RSS feeds “baked in.” Likewise on Safari for Mac OS.
Conversely, when you are producing content on the web as you become a more advanced SMUG student, RSS will be the way interested people can subscribe to your updates.
Among the best advantages is that RSS doesn’t get caught in spam filters. You don’t have to maintain a list of subscribers. They are self-selected.
Another neat thing about RSS with news sites is you can subscribe to just the sections that interest you, if the site owner has made those specialized feeds available. For instance, the Washington Post site has more than 150 separate feeds (see them in a new window) so you can tailor what news you receive. Look for the logo at the top of this post, or the XML graphic (see below).
And if you appreciate being able to fine-tune the information you receive by RSS, think of those who are reading or listening to your material (if you have a podcast). You may want to provide multiple feeds, so people can choose.
You can read all about RSS here on Wikipedia, or better yet go to the Common Craft site to see the RSS in Plain English video (opens in a new window). I can’t recommend this video highly enough. Lee and Sachi LeFever may well be among the first candidates for Honorary Doctorates from SMUG.
Homework Assignments:
- Get an RSS reader/aggregator. If you aren’t getting RSS through your advanced browser, Google Reader is a great free online RSS aggregator. The Attensa products are free, too. If you have a laptop and would like to be able to read your feeds when you’re not connected to the Net (like when you’re on the bus or a plane), you might want to get a standalone reader like these from NewsGator for Mac or Windows. There also are some plug-ins for Outlook that let you get RSS feeds in a folder that’s part of your email client. Here’s one of those from Attensa.
- Subscribe to the RSS feed from SMUG by clicking here. Pick one or more of the Washington Post feeds, too.
- Share your experience with your classmates. If you already have a way of reading RSS feeds, leave a comment below telling which reader or browser-based solution you use, and why. If you’re having any difficulty getting started with RSS, leave a note about that, too. It’s really important to get this step right. Understanding RSS, at least at the “Plain English” level, is an essential prerequisite for further study.
Remember, at Social Media University, Global your tuition is free, and we will never require anything in our homework assignments that would force you to spend any money.
17 Comments
Hey, Lee, thanks for the great post. Attensa is a client of mine, and I use both the Outlook client on my PC and the web client on my Mac. They have a free Mac reader, too, but I’m on the go so much, it’s great to be able to pick up my feeds any time, anywhere.
One of the coolest things about the Attensa readers – I can view blog posts, and actually comment or post about them to my own blog from right within the Attensa reader… that’s especially helpful for PR folks who want to pass information along to their colleagues without interrupting their attention flow.
I am happy to see you’re still adding huge value in the blogosphere…
Cheers! – Janet
Wow, honorary doctorates!
We’ll keep our fingers crossed. Thanks for the kind words and links Lee!
After setting up my rss and blog reader about 30 days ago, I’ve found that it’s really helping me get more involved and I’m actually reading more. Still trying to figure out how to keep on top of things though. What suggestions does anyone have for somehow pulling all “sources” into one place? I’m checking Facebook, LinkedIn, Google reader, now Twitter plus CollectiveX, and let’s not forget email
Hi Peggy,
What type of sources are you trying to pull together? The best way I have found to keep track of stories or posts that I like, is by using my del.icio.us page. If you haven’t already checked del.icio.us out you should! It is like your personal bookmarks, but saved online so you can access them anywhere!
-Kelsey
Lee,
Your site is the best source of basic social media information I’ve seen. I love the way you distill it down into something completely digestible. I loved the Media Relations conference last week (and especially your presentation), but found myself feeling l have been out of college WAY TOO LONG!
Thanks for making it a bit easier!
I can’t wait to catch up on all of my courses! This is great…I currently have an internship at a PR firm and it’s mainly dealing with social media so I think this university will give me some great ideas.
As for readers, I have been using FeedBurner for IE7, but I only have IE7 at work so I am now switching to Google.
I really love Google by the way.
Thanks for the easy instructions. I chose Google Reader. The Common Craft site to see the RSS in Plain English video was valuable. I had a chance to immediately apply the tip on how to copy and paste a URL into Google Reader when I tried to subscribe to one of the Washington Post feeds.
Glad you found it helpful. Reading RSS feeds is the great way to keep up on lots of sites in a short time.
Help please! I just downloaded the attensa product and it showed up on my outlook tool bar. So far so good. But when I subscribe to a rss news feed it shows up in my favorites on my internet explorer tool bar under rss feeds – nothing shows up in the attensa. Does anyone know how to fix this? I am assuming that if it shows up in the Attensa window I would actually see the updates there without having to go to the blog/web sites that I have subscribed to. Is this also correct? (that is what I learned from the video above). When I click on the attensa tool bar it shows that I have no subscriptions where my internet tool bar shows two. Thanks in advance for any help!
Hi Susan – I’m not a Windows guy, but I think what might be happening is that you need to set your default preferences for RSS feeds at the system level, so that whenever you subscribe to a feed, Windows will choose Attensa instead of IE.
Made the @H1N1cdc twitteraccount since back then CDC hadn’t any specially for “swine Flu” rss feed : http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/35511621.rss
I have used Google Reader for about two years and love it. I love having a Web-based reader that I can access from home or work. It allows me to organize each feed into categories, which is helpful for my many hobbies and interests.
Looking forward to learning more!
Jill
Whoops, fat fingered my way through my Web site address! It’s now corrected!
I’ve been using Google Reader for a couple of years now. The biggest challenge I have noticed in using it is limiting the number of things I subscribe to. When I first started using it, I subscribed to anything and everything I was interested in. As a result, my reader got too cluttered and it became less useful to me. Since then, I’ve trimmed down my subscriptions and that has helped a lot. I’d like to figure out a way to categorize my subscriptions so that I could relegate “work/professional” related posts to one reader stream, dancing related posts to another, etc…
Time to start looking at my Google Reader. It has over 900 posts and I have never read one. I promise to begin.
The Attensa link doesn’t work. I’m not sure that they have a free product anymore. Can someone find out?
I like to use Google Reader. I think is very simple and reliable, is the best way to receive updates.
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