RSS feeds
Mini workshop byNick Dickinson
Harry OosterveenCor Dietvorst
Overview
• What is a newsfeed? Why a newsfeed?• Examples• How to use them – Google Reader• Practice• iGoogle• Practice• Where to find feeds
What is a newsfeed?
• A newsfeed is a stream of syndicated information– Information brought together in one place
• Usually focused on a particular topic or website• Common names: RSS, Atom• What it means is less important:
– Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)– RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)– Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
RSS in Plain English
A simple introduction
Why use a (RSS) feed reader?
Reduce e-mailManage and organise your
subscriptions
What kinds of feeds are available?
• News feeds [general CNN, BBC, development news, sector news]
• Blog feeds [nearly all blogs offer an RSS feed]• Tag feeds [blog tags, social bookmarking tags
like del.ici.ous]• Web site updates [general, by topic/theme]• Newsletters/journals (e.g. Waterlines)• Searches in Google News, Google Blog Search
and Google Video
Examples of WASH and development feeds [1]
Themes and Resources
WASH general: ODI - Theme: Water and Sanitation + Waterlines
WASH by theme: WASH News Finance + WASH News Hygiene Promotion +
WASH Governance News + Sanitation Updates + WASH Technology
General development: ELDIS Newsfeeds + ODI News Feeds + SciDev.Net (topic gateways)
ResourcesWASH Vacancies + WASH Names + WASH Resources +
WASH Research
Examples of WASH and development feeds [2]
Regions
General: World Bank RSS Feeds (by region and by country)
International:WASH News International
Africa:allAfrica.com: Water and Sanitation + The Southern Africa Water Wire + WASH News Africa
Asia:WASH News Asia & Pacific
Latin America:WASH News Latin America and Caribbean
Middle EastEMWIS [feeds for latest news, events and uploads] + WASH News Middle East and North Africa
Other examples
• News sites– NRC front page, BBC, DutchNews.nl...
• Videos– YouTube channels
• WaterAid
• Music sites– World music central
• Technology– MobileActive.org, Tweakers.net
Recognising more RSS Feeds - icons
Google Reader and iGoogle
for RSS
Google Reader
• View and read your feeds– Search your feeds– Organise your feeds under tags/folders– See trends: do you actually read it?– Share items/folders of interest with others
• Other alternatives– MyYahoo!– Bloglines– NewsGator
• FIRST: Login in to Google Reader– http://www.google.com/reader/
• SECOND: find an RSS feed!– Go to a site that you like to visit– OR use a link in this presentation
Google Reader Practice
iGoogle
• Personalised home/search page• A collection of ‘gadgets’• Uses
– feed reader (RSS, google reader)– organizer (calendar, mail, tasks, notes and
bookmarks)– weather forecast etc.
• FIRST: Go to iGoogle– http://www.google.com/ig– Select content you want on your homepage.
• SECOND: add your RSS feed!– Click on “Add stuff »” – Click on “Add feed or gadget”– Paste your feed url into this field.
• THIRD: add Google Reader gadget– Search for “Google Reader gadget” from iGoogle– OR click here
http://fusion.google.com/add?client=reader&moduleurl=reader.xmlORhttp://www.google.com/ig/directory?url=www.google.com/ig/modules/reader.xml
iGoogle Practice
Search for RSS Feeds
1. Visit a directory of RSS feeds• Syndic8.com + RSS Micro
2. Search for RSS feeds on your Google Reader• Click on Add Subscription, enter search terms
3. Most blogs have an RSS feed • See the Ask IRC overview of WASH blogs• Search for blogs via Technorati.or Google Blog Search
4. Look for feed icons on your favourite web site
Questions and Feedback
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