(from the April 2007 Emerging Technologies and Pie Presentation)
Audio Episode: RSS
(1 minute)
RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”, among others) is a process that allows people who want to keep track of new content on a site to “subscribe” to the site and receive updates automatically when new information is posted. RSS also allows content providers to “syndicate” their content, pushing updates out to subscribers simply by posting new information.
Although current tools automate the process, the system behind this is the posting and updating of a text file, called a “feed”, that follows a standardized form (the RSS Specification) for describing updates or episodes. When someone wants to “subscribe” to a site, they simply copy the link to this file and insert it in the software that they use for reading feeds. Because the RSS specification is not proprietary, there are many varieties of tools that can read, display and organize content from RSS feeds.
Publishing Site Content
There are many tools for creating RSS feeds (including manually editing the file in a text editor). At UMass Amherst, the simplest way to create a feed is to create an OIT blog. All OIT blogs automatically generate RSS feeds. Check that the theme design that you choose includes an RSS or “Subscribe” option. Many online tools, such as Flickr or Delicious, also generate RSS feeds as a standard feature.
UMass Amherst Blogs
http://websites.umass.edu/
Subscribing to Online Content
If you regularly read posts on several blogs or news sites, you can collect all of theses sites in one place using a “RSS Aggregator”. Aggregators collect all the updates from the sites you have subscribed to and organize them in a single location. Some aggregators are Web-based, others are standalone programs.
RSS Aggregators:
Google Reader (Online aggregator – free registration required)
http://www.google.com/reader
My Yahoo (Online aggregator – free registration required)
http://my.yahoo.com
Other aggregators include standalone programs, extensions to browsers, extensions to email programs (such as Outlook) and sites that send updates via email. For an extensive list of aggregators see: http://www.newsonfeeds.com/faq/aggregators
Inserting Online Content on Pages
By inserting special code into a Web page, content from an RSS feed can appear directly on a page of a Web site, SPARK page, or blog. Online forms can generate this code at the click of a button. The OIT blog service includes “widgets” that can be easily configured to insert RSS-based content into the side columns of a blog.
RSS Code Generator from Georgia Southern University
http://academics.georgiasouthern.edu/etc/feed2js/
Example: MicrobeWorld.com, Microbiology Department Gradstudent Information site: http://www.bio.umass.edu/micro/nusslein/MGSG/