Assignment: RSS

1. Download/install/signup for at least two RSS feeders including at least one from a browser and one from an internet service or software download. You can choose to use a desktop application (download and install) like RSS Bandit, RSSOWL, or FeedDemon. There are also popular web-based tools to use allowing you to access your feeds anywhere, like Bloglines, Google Reader, iGoogle, MyYahoo, etc.

Lists of readers

Web-based

• http://www.bloglines.com/
• http://www.google.com/reader (Must create a Google account)
• http://news.yahoo.com/rss (Must create a My Yahoo account)
• http://www.newsgator.com/

For your Desktop

• Feed Demon http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/feeddemon/default.aspx
• http://rssbandit.org/
• RSSOWL

Browser

• Mozilla Firefox (Search under Add-ons – I use Sage)
• Add live bookmarks http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Live+Bookmarks?style_mode=inproduct or
• http://kb.mozillazine.org/Live_Bookmarks_-_Firefox#Subscribing_to_feeds_using_Live_Bookmarks
• Internet Explorer

For mobile devices

• NetNewsWire for iPhone http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/netnewswireiphone/default.aspx
• Newsgator Go http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/newsgatorgo/default.aspx

More lists of RSS readers

• http://lifehacker.com/390619/best-rss-newsreaders
• http://stevenmcohen.pbworks.com/IL2007
• http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Software/Internet/Clients/WWW/Feed_Readers/
• http://www.newsgator.com/individuals/default.aspx
• http://email.about.com/od/rssreaderswin/tp/top_rss_windows.htm
• http://www.feed-readers.com/most-popular-rss-readers.htm
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Data_Formats/XML__eXtensible_Markup_Language_/RSS/RSS_Readers_and_Aggregators/
• http://allrss.com/rssreaders.html - by computer type
• http://www.feedroll.com/
• http://www.feed-readers.com/most-popular-rss-readers.htm

2. Find and subscribe to 5 feeds from each of the following categories:

1. professional associations
2. legal sites or blogs
3. news sources
4. government sites (state or federal - agencies, courts, legislative, executive level, etc.)
5. libraries or library blogs
6. hobby or personal interest sites

You can do this by visiting your favorite sites and looking for the RSS links and symbol . Or search for feeds using one of the following:

• Bloglines - Search for news feeds in addition to posts, citations and the web.
• Google Reader - "Add subscription" offers keyword searching as well as provides a "Discover" link that recommend new feeds by comparing your interests with the feeds of users similar to you.
• Technorati - Technorati is a popular blog finding tool that lets you search for blogs. Since RSS feeds are inherent to all blogging tools, Technorati Blog Search can help you find RSS feeds for topic specific blogs you may be interested in.

3. Organize your feeds - Create a folder labeled “Web 2.0 Challenge” in your reader if that option is available and put your feeds into labeled folders for each subcategory. Do this with the two readers that you are using.

4. Share your sites – Share the sites you have subscribed to with the group and why you think they are valuable. Was it easy to find feeds and to subscribe to them? Which sites were your favorites?

5. Compare Feeders – features, ease of subscribing and adding feeds, notification, updates, privacy, portability, special features, access, etc. What do you like or dislike about the readers?

6. Discuss RSS – Discuss how you would use RSS feeds in your library. How can libraries use RSS and take advantage of this new technology? How would you use them on your blog or website? How would you use this technology in your personal life? Be able to discuss RSS with a basic understanding of the terminology involved. Will Twitter kill RSS? What other alternatives to RSS feeds are there for current awareness? How does using RSS compare to West, Lexis and Google alerts?

7. Optional –

1. Create a blog or website with an RSS feed and share it with the group.
2. If you have a website, set up an RSS feed for your users. You can write the XML code. You may use any of the tools listed on the RSS and Javascript Cookbook Tools http://paulandmeredith.pbworks.com/Tools or RSS Compendium - RSS Re-mixersuse Feedroll to set up a feed http://www.feedroll.com/ or, you find a feed to add to your pages such as customizing Jurist.com’s http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/feeds.php#boxes.
3. If you have a mobile device, try installing an RSS reader and subscribe to feeds on it.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

The About.com guide to online research by Wendy Boswell, Adams Media (2007), ISBN-10: 1598695037

Social Software in Libraries: Building Collaboration, Communication, and Community Online by Meredith G. Farkas, Information Today, Inc., (2007), ISBN-10: 157387275X

Web 2.0 & Libraries: Best Practices for Social Software by Michael Stephens, Library Technology Reports, July/Aug., 2006, ISBN: 0024-2586