Saturday, February 28, 2009

# 8. RSS & Newsreaders

Listen to the podcast!



Introduction

You’ve probably heard of RSS, or have at least seen those small funky tags hanging around the websites you visit.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” It's a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the web. RSS is changing the way everyday users are consuming information.

Think about the websites you regularly visit, perhaps several times a day. Imagine if you could visit all those information sources and web pages in just one place and all at the same time - without being bombarded with advertising … without having to search for new information on a page you've already seen or read before … without having to consume a lot of time visiting each site individually. You can "2.0" this with RSS! Just strap yourself in and read on (it's actually not so scary of a ride).

Discovery Resources
Watch the video: RSS in Plain English

Go through the tutorial: Using Bloglines (or how to keep up with dozens of blogs everyday). It will walk you through how to setup a Bloglines account and add newsfeeds. Note: Bloglines has changed its interface slightly since this tutorial was created.

Discovery Exercises
Create a free online Bloglines for yourself. Remember to blog about your experience!

Now you're ready for Thing #9, subscribing to news feeds.