Joined on 06-21-2005
TechSoup Member
I was asked to share resources and facilitate a discussion here today about RSS Syndication and how organizations can use it to share knowledge, but this forum program is giving me too much trouble with links in HTML so I've just made the post on my own blog. I hope you'll go over and visit, but comments might be best posted here (?) for continuity of the event. I think you'll find the post very useful.
It's at:
RSS Syndication: What, Why and How?
Joined on 03-06-2001
TechSoup Member
I'd like to add a few thoughts on RSS.
First, a fellow NC blogger Lance McCord recently wrote a great blog post on
WHy You should Be Using RSS. It's pretty short and VERY helpful. He explains what RSS is and how to get started.
Also as an example of how these things can be useful, I'd like to quote myself from a
blog post back in January:
I have discovered a few cool new web sites that make great use of syndicated feeds. Most of these sites aren't about RSS, but they all utilize it in new ways. They also all have social/sharing aspects that form their own communities. To me this is some of the best of what the web can do right now. It's very exciting (yes, I know I'm a geek).
- 43 Things
This site lists and aggregates people's goals. Want to drive across the USA? So do 66 other people, and 60 people already did it and will tell you if it's worthwhile. - Woot
This website sells one thing each day, no more no less. Subscribe to their feed and you can check out the item without having to go to their site. Each item sold also has a forum where users can discuss the product. - Ta-da lists
This is a simple to-do list system, but you can share lists publicly and publish a feed of your list items.
And my old favorites (most of which I discussed on 3 URLs on AudioActivism.org last October):
- flickr
Post photos, tag (categorize) them, make slideshows, surf other people's tags, comment on their photos, etc. - del.icio.us
This is a web-based system to store your bookmarks. This is especially great for people who work from different computers all the time. You can tag your bookmarks, and see what other people are bookmarking. Subscribe to a del.icio.us tag by RSS and see everything people post on that tag. Some folks are making an effort to collect nonprofit technology resources by collectively using the tag "nptech." - Bloglines, duh!
This is what I use to subscribe to all of the afore-mentioned RSS feeds! Not only is it free and easy to use, they even have a mobile version which works nicely on my Treo. It's also social in that you can see who else subscribes to feeds you like and then see what else they are reading.
= Ruby
PS: Marshall, try just pasting the HTML into the body.
A very quick way to get to value with RSS is to go to http://bloglines.com , create an account, add a few feeds from there, and monitor them for a few minutes each day.
Just out of curiosity, why do you think bloglines is better than an installed application, like SharpRader, for example? I use sharpreader, b/c I have been on it for a long time, and for no other reason.
What do others prefer and why. Benefits and drawbacks?
Great questions!
I used the article on Consultant Commons to help select a reader.
http://www.consultantcommons.org/node/105
I selected bloglines because:
* It was free
* I wanted something web-based and that had a treo/mobile version (catch up on my reading when I'm standing in line to get coffee)
* Fairly easy to use
* Can share your reading list with others (either through a public account or export your opml file)
Joined on 03-06-2003
TechSoup Member
I've been energized over the potential of RSS for nonprofits. Some uses that I see for it could be:
[*]a RSS feed listing volunteer needs for an organization that has opportunities crop up sporadically and urgently. Trained volunteers could subscribe to the feed and grab opportunities they are available for.[/*]
[*]How about an RSS feed of items that are needed for in-kind donations? Schools, camps, shelters, and other organizations could possibly avoid the common duplication of gifts by removing items from the feed when it is received. I see great potential or these type of organizations that have "wish lists" they share with supporters.[/*]
[*]Using news feeds can be an easy way to drive constituents to your organization's website. It's sometimes difficult to convince supporters to check nonprofit websites for updated information when there are so many other news sources on the web. Simply putting the local news and weather (via an external feed) on your home page may be enough for some people to use your organization's site rather than their standard home page.[/*]
[*]Like Ruby said, Flickr is great! Imagine getting all your participants from a special event or gathering to tag their flickr photos with the name of your event. You could greatly increase your supply of pics for the next newsletter without having to hire professional photographers! (of course after getting permission to use the pictures from the owners)[/*]
[*]and of course, being a podcaster, I think the potential to use audio and RSS to tell nonprofits' stories is amazing. Hearing someone passionately make an urgent appeal or explain project can be much more powerful than the same words in text.[/*]
Corey
web: http://www.501c3cast.com
rss: http://feeds.feedburner.com/501c3cast
Joined on 10-18-2005
TechSoup Member
I use
NewsGator for my feeds, and
FeedDemon to read them on my PC. Why Newsgator? I can have one centralized source of feeds and then read them from my PC, my Mac, my PDA or any Internet connection. That way, once I've read an article on one it's read, and I'm not rereading it if I'm on a different computer.
I used Bloglines for a long time for the same reason, but switched to Newsgator when they purchased FeedDemon (and now NetNewsWire, the best Mac news reader) since I love that program.
I also switched over to Newsgator recently, after they bought not only FeedDemon but also NetNewsWire. The company is creating a massive platform for people to access their RSS data from just about anywhere. I won't be surprise if they would be gunning for Feedburner down the road to take over the feed creation side of the business.
Contrast with that, Bloglines has been sort of remained the same for as long as I remember, and its looking more and more dated everytime I log in. Just figure it's time to switch and move on to a bigger, more flexible platform.
Clement
I also want to add that in my mind there is a great incentive not only to use RSS as a data format, but to get as many people and organization to use it as possible. It's like a opensource data format, that once you put your data into it (bookmarks, orgnization update, podcast, news, calendar items etc. etc.), it becomes instantly modular and can be published, syndicated, cut and paste, meshed-up and remixed, anyway you or anyone else in the world wants. It will greatly encourage the dissemination and exchange of information that we all strive for.
Clement
Susan,
You asked about
bloglines v. an installed application.
For me, it's all about workflow. I'm unplugged during my prime RSS reading time (you heard it hear first folks, there are moments when I'm not connected to the Internet at all). As such, a web-based reader doesn't work for me. I get the best of both worlds by using FeedDemon and synching it to a Newsgator account.
If I was always online, I'd prefer a web-based reader since I'm also a
blogger. It would make it very easy for me to integrate the two chunks of work flow.
-webb
Corey,
Terrific ideas on the use of RSS for nonprofits. I'd add in syndication. The ability to republish headlines and effectively share information and content beyond your own website is powerful.
I'd love it foundation would use RSS to announce new grants and post information about grant deadlines.
-webb
Joined on 10-21-2005
TechSoup Member
I use NetNewsWire to monitor my 112 feeds. Another interesting thing you can do with RSS is to monitor the mention of specific keywords or links to your site in the 'blogosphere'.
Technorati is a blog indexing service that tracks blogs posts and links. If you signup and create a profile (free) you can setup watchlists for specific keywords. These watchlists can then be subscribed to with your RSS reader notifiying you whenever they are mentioned in any of 20 million blogs that Technorati keeps tracks off.
You can do this with Google as well. Google has something called
News Alerts that allow you to monitor anything in Google News or anything in Google for that matter. This is a good way to keep up with media mentions of your organization as they happen.
Joined on 05-23-2001
TechSoup Member
Marnie,
The WK Kellogg Foundation uses RSS feeds as one method of announcing grants. They are a good example of an organization that gives its constituents alternatives for receiving information -- something that more non-profits should consider.
If planned and executed correctly, the incremental costs of providing the alternatives is very small and when tied to fundraising, for example, may be very cost effective.
Check out this site: http://www.wkkf.org/Knowledgebase/RSS.aspx
Joined on 03-06-2001
TechSoup Member
In response to Susan's question, I like Bloglines because I almost always prefer web-based applications. I like them because they allow me to do what I want from any Internet-connected computer, whether it's a Mac or Windows or whatever.
In truth, I end up schlepping my laptop with me a lot anyway, but I like the theoretical independence. Also, now that I can do the web on my mobile phone, I can access my feeds, my bookmarks, my blog all from there.
But really, I'm what you would have to call a junky, I get the shakes when I lose my Internet connection. I'm probably not healthy.
= Ruby
Joined on 06-21-2005
TechSoup Member
If people are interested in checking out what the inside of a Newsgator account looks like (it's my favorite) I've set up and seeded with feeds a demo account at http://newsgator.com username: marshalldemo pw: welcome