Blogs and RSS Feeds: What, Why, and How

1
Blogs and RSS Feeds What, Why, and How

• Steven M. Cohen
• PubSub Concepts, Inc
• Library Stuff

SLA 2005
2
Presentation URL

• http//www.stevenmcohen.info/SLA04292005.ppt

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Topics Covered

• Weblogs - What? How? Why? Where? Who? When?
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication)

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What?

• Website, listed chronologically, with written
  content and links.
• Most use software for easy publication.
• Calendars, Permalinks, Archives, RSS, blogroll,
  comments.
• Easy Easy Easy Easy Easy

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What? (Examples)

• Library Stuff (www.librarystuff.net)
• LISNews (http//www.lisnews.com)
• Resourceshelf (http//www.resourceshelf.com)
• The Shifted Librarian (http//www.theshiftedlibrar
  ian.com)
• Librarian.net (http//www.librarian.net)

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How? (Software)

• Blogger (http//www.blogger.com)
• Movabletype (http//www.movabletype.org)
• Radio Userland (http//radio.userland.com)
• WordPress (http//www.wordpress.org)
• Live Journal (http//www.livejournal.com)

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How? (Lets Create one)
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Which? (Choosing One)

• How do you get the software?
• Automatic archiving?
• Comments included?
• Spell check?
• Free Web Space?

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Why? (Using Weblogs)

• Easy to distribute content
• Communication within the building (reference
  desk)
• Great for Library Web pages.

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Why? (Examples)

• Library News
• Reference Desk Discussion (FARQs, patrons, etc)
• New Acquisitions.
• Consortia
• Book Clubs
• Backend CMS only

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Why? (Advantages)

• Easy, Easy, Easy, Easy, Easy to publish
• No need to download software
• Open source, open access feeling
• Interactive
• No Rules

12
Why not? (Disadvantages)

• Information Overload?!
• Have to continuously update them
• Takes time on behalf of the writer
• Crossposting
• Subjective
• Reliability of content
• No Rules

13
Where? (Examples)

• Waterboro Public Library (http//www.waterborolibr
  ary.org/blog.htm)
• Georgia State University Libraries
  (http//www.library.gsu.edu/news)
• Rosedale Public Library Blogger Book Club
  (http//www.roselle.lib.il.us/YouthServices/BookCl
  ub/Bloggerbookclub.htm)

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Where? (Examples)

• Construction Diary (http//urbanafreelibrary.org/b
  ldgblog.html)
• University of Minnesota Libraries
  (http//blog.lib.umn.edu)
• Wisconsin Library Association (http//wlaweb.blogs
  pot.com/)
• Suburban Library System (http//www.sls.lib.il.us/
  )

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Who? (Marketing)

• Stand out in the crowd.
• Ease of use
• Best way to publish without trade publications
  (on your own terms)
• Finding your niche (http//marylaine.com/exlibris/
  xlib185.html)
• Write everyday
• Marketing the Librarian (http//www.liscareer.co
  m/cohen_marketing.htm)

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Who? (Searching For Weblogs)

• Searching weblog content.
• PubSub (http//www.pubsub.com)
• Feedster (http//www.feedster.com)
• Blogdigger (http//www.blogdigger.com)

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Who? (LIS Specific)

• Peter Scotts List (www.libdex.com/weblogs.html)
• LISBlogsource (http//www.lisblogsource.net)
• ODP Library Weblogs (http//tinyurl.com/ew7o)
• Blog Without a Library - (http//www.blogwithoutal
  ibrary.net/links.html)

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Getting Associations to Blog

• The first national association blog for PLA
• http//www.plablog.org

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RSS 101

• Content from the Web which is parsed into a file
  (.xml or .rss or .php)
• Cant be read in a browser on its own.
• Look for the orange button!!!
• Stevens Personalized Page (DEMO)

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Examples of Companies that Syndicate Content via
RSS

• Chronicle of Higher Education
• http//chronicle.com/help/rss.htm
• Reuters
• (http//www.reuters.com/newsrss.jhtml)
• New York Times
• http//www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/index.html
  
• Christian Science Monitor
• http//search.csmonitor.com/rss/index.html

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News Aggregators

• Bloglines (Demo)
• http//www.bloglines.com
• Net News Wire (Mac)
• http//www.netnewswire.com
• Newzcrawler
• http//www.newzcrawler.com
• Newsgator (Outlook)
• http//www.newsgator.com

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Customize Your RSS

• Topix (http//www.topix.net)
• Ingenta Connect (http//www.ingentaconnect.com)
• Yahoo News Search
• Wired News
• PubSub (http//www.pubsub.com)
• Feedster (http//www.feedster.com)
• Technorati (http//www.technorati.com)

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Customize Your RSS

• Moreover (http//p.moreover.com/cgi-local/page?kl
  ibrarianorss)
• ODP Directory Feeds (http//www.xmlhub.com/odp_f
  eed.php)
• Fins Articles (http//www.findarticles.com/)
• Amazon (http//www.onfocus.com/bookwatch/AmazonR
  SS.asp)
• Amazon Wishlists (http//www.edazzle.net/amazon/
  )

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Customize Your RSS

• Ebay (http//www.rssauction.com/)
• UPS/Fedex/USPS (http//track.toolbot.com/)

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RSS _at_ Your Library

• RSS in Your ILS (Jenny Levine) -
  http//www.theshiftedlibrarian.com/archives/2005/0
  2/03.html000115)
• New Books (http//apu.kenton.lib.ky.us/newbooks/
  newadult.php)
• Library Elf (http//www.libraryelf.com/)
• University of Alberta (NEOS) (http//www.library
  .ualberta.ca/newbooks/index.cfmcallnumber)
• Henneupin County Public Library
  (http//www.hclib.org/)

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A Bit on Folksonomies

• Build Your Own Taxonomies
• Furl (http//www.furl.net/)
• Delicious (http//del.icio.us)
• Cite U Like (http//www.citeulike.org/)
• Digg (http//digg.com)

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Disadvantages of RSS

• No filtering by keyword
• Can become unruly, quickly
• Not Everything is RSSified
• Difficult to synchronize aggregator between
  multiple computers (but...)

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Advantages of RSS

• Cutting edge technology
• No advertisements to deal with
• More and more join RSS every day
• Saves lots of time (4 hours ? 30 minutes)
• Can be syndicated onto a web site
• Syndication works well for frequently and
  infrequently update sites

29
Thanks

• Contact (in this order)
• AOL IM nylibrarian
• Skype stevenmcohen
• Phone [phone]
• E-mail stevenmcohen_at_gmail.com