Defining Blogs RSS Feeds What is a blog

Defining Blogs & RSS Feeds

What is a blog? § A web log § Definition by Darlene Fichter…. a blog is a “web page containing brief entries arranged chronologically. ” § Frequency, brevity, personality

Why would you create a blog? Blogging technology is easy to use and inexpensive. It is a great way to distribute information that changes on a regular basis.

Why would you create a blog for your library? You could create a library blog to: § Share information (think new books, new electronic resources, password changes) § Recommend Internet sites § Market library services § Share tips and tricks

Why would you create a blog for your library? § Get beyond the stereotype of blogs as being personal, online journals. § Blogs reduced to their bare bones are simply web pages with short entries in reverse chronological order that can be categorized by subject. § Great way to distribute information that changes on a regular basis

What is RSS? § RSS is an XML format for syndication of current web content § Rich site summary or really simple syndication. Really simple syndication is probably the most agreed upon choice for this acronym. § Think of it as a distributable “What’s New” for a website, think headlines, updates, new postings

What is RSS? § RSS allows users to receive notification of current content without having to visit the web sites of interest to determine if they have been updated § Allows you to keep track of a large number of websites in a short period of time

What is RSS? § RSS originally became popular with the increased use of blogs § Blogs generate RSS feeds. Automatic feed creation is a feature of most blogging software

How do I read RSS feeds? § Two primary categories of feed reading applications: installable desktop programs and online services § These services are called aggregators § Popular desktop programs are Feed. Demon and Net. Newswire § The most popular online service is Bloglines

RSS aggregators Content of selected feed List of RSS feeds that you subscribe to Bloglines notifier

RSS aggregators § My. Feedster, Daily. Rotation, Newsgator, Newscrawler and My. Yahoo! are other popular services § You need an email address to register and login

Adding RSS feeds § Add subscriptions by adding URLs § Click on the orange box and copy URL from top of XML file

What is the difference between blogs and RSS? § Delivery difference § Content difference § Reader-tool difference Blogs offer RSS feeds RSS and email are content delivery channels. Blogs are an internet media content format

Bloglines for email discussion lists § Bloglines email subscriptions § You can create an unlimited number of special Bloglines email addresses that are tied to your Bloglines account. The email addresses show up as subscriptions in your My Blogs page, and email sent to those email addresses appears as new items.

Using RSS feeds and Bloglines email subscriptions instead of email alerts § § § Reduction of spam Easy viewing No need for Out of Office Reduce Inbox clutter No rejection by servers

Getting started with RSS & blogs § Cindy Chick’s RSS Tutorial

Some blogs that I subscribe to the RSS feeds for § § § § § Canadian Privacy Law Blog Michael Geist’s Privacy Law Tara Calishain’s Research Buzz Cindy Chick’s Law. Lib Tech Blog Steve Matthews’ Vancouver Law Librarian Blog Connie Crosby’s Law Library Blog SLAW Google Weblog Gary Price’s Resource Shelf Search Engine Watch Blog

RSS feeds that I subscribe to that aren’t blogs § Genie Tyburski’s The Virtual Chase § Sabrina Pacifici’s be. Spacific § CBC News § Law. com newswire § Globe & Mail business headlines

Getting started with blogs & RSS Cindy Chick’s RSS Tutorial available at her blog at http: //www. lawlibtech. com/ § Part One: What is RSS? http: //lawlibtech. com/archives/000314. html § Part Two: Getting started with RSS aggregators http: //lawlibtech. com/archives/000319. html § Part Three: Using Bloglines http: //lawlibtech. com/archives/000324. html § Part Four: News, news and more news http: //lawlibtech. com/archives/000338. html Definition of blog from wikipedia - http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Blog Some Blogs and RSS Feeds that you might like to subscribe to: § be. Spacific http: //www. bespacific. com § Connie Crosby http: //conniecrosby. blogspot. com/ § Law Lib Techhttp: //www. lawlibtech. com/ § TVC Alerthttp: //www. virtualchase. com/tvcalert/index. html § Vancouver Law Librarian Blog http: //vancouverlawlib. blogspot. com/ § Resource Shelf http: //www. resourceshelf. com/ § Canadian Privacy Law Blog http: //www. privacylawyer. ca/blog/ § Search Engine Watch Blog http: //blog. searchenginewatch. com/blog/ § SLAW http: //www. slaw. ca/ § Research Buzz http: //www. researchbuzz. org/ § Google Weblog http: //google. blogspace. com/

Articles § § Chris Sherman, “What is RSS and Why Should You Care” http: //searchenginewatch. com/searchday/article. php/35309 26 Chris Sherman, “Choosing a RSS Reader” http: //searchenginewatch. com/searchday/article. php/35314 86 § Darlene Fichter, Why and How to Use Blogs to Promote Your Library's Services http: //www. infotoday. com/mls/nov 03/fichter. shtml § Darlene Fichter, Blogging Explosion: Libraries and Weblogs http: //library. usask. ca/~fichter/talks 03/il/2003. 10. 28. bl ogging. pps)