Beginners' Guide to RSS and RSS on the CDD blog

This post is written to help new-comers to RSS understand what is going on. It's directed at learning how to subscribe to Cambridge University Library's Collections and Cataloguing departmental blog using Google Reader and Internet Explorer Favourites Center, but in essence it could be useful for subscribing to any RSS feed out there.


I've tried to keep it Really Simple Stupid...

What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication

Syndication = The ability for information on a web page to be shared across the Net in a usable, readable format.

Say that so I can understand it…

1. An article or ‘post’ is written, in this case on the CDD blog.(Raven password protected for Cambridge staff)
2. The blog automatically creates a ‘feed’ and makes the feed available on the Web.
3. You use a feed reader to subscribe to and view the feed.
4. Every time a new post is written on the CDD blog, an update appears in your feed reader
5. The information comes to you. You do not need to go to the information. 

 How do I get a ‘feed reader’?

There are many many options available out there, but we're going to keep it simple and look at just the two:

• Google Reader (this is best if you use Firefox as your browser)
• Feeds in the Favourites Center of  Internet Explorer

How do I get Google Reader?

Google Reader can be thought of as your inbox on the web (to quote Ange Fitzpatrick). To get Google Reader you will need a Google Account. If you don't already have a Google account, you will need to set one up here:

www.google.com/reader 

Next, it's a good idea to take the time to watch this short video about Google Reader. It tells you everything you need to know and is only just over a minute long:



Now I have Google Reader, how do I subscribe to the CDD blog?

There are a couple of options. Just choose the one you prefer!
1. Open a Firefox session and subscribe via the CDD blog.
In the 'admin' section on the right hand side of the blog, click on 'entries rss' to subscribe to the posts feed and, if you want to,'comments rss' to subscribe to the comments feed. Clicking on these links will open up a feed window where you will first choose to subscribe to Google and then choose the option to 'add to Google Reader' on the following screen. The CDD blog feed will then automatically be added to your Google Reader and updated each time there is a new post or comment

2. Open a Firefox session and subscribe via Google Reader.  Click on 'add a subscription' in the top left of the main Google Reader interface. Simply paste the URL of the CDD blog  http://www.lib.cam.ac.uk/intranet/cdd/blog/  into the box that appears.

How do I use the Feeds in the Favourites Center in Internet Explorer?

1. Open an IE session and subscribe via the CDD blog .
In the 'admin' section on the right hand side of the blog, click on 'entries rss' to subscribe to the posts feed and, if you want to,  'comments rss' to subscribe to the comments feed. A new window will open stating:

Click on 'subscribe to this feed'. The following box will appear:

Here you can choose to give the CDD blog whatever name you like, and choose whether to add a link to the blog and its feeds to your favourites bar. Keep the 'Create in' drop down box pointing to 'Feeds'.
Click on 'Subscribe'. Once you have done that, the CDD blog feed will appear in your IE Favourites feeds here, where you see the yellow star:

And here, if you choose to add it to your favourites bar:

Whichever method you choose to subscribe to RSS feeds, you should now be able to take full advantage of the RSS world. It should save you a lot of time and effort in the future. Just as you might get your newspaper delivered to your door everyday, you can now check-in to Google Reader or IE Favourites to check on your virtual news, events and updates in one handy place.

Extra help in understanding RSS:

library-gardens-magical-mystery-tour-rss-demystified

rss-sos-a-how-to-guide

All Thinged Out. Thing 23: So long, farewell, aufwiedersehen, goodbyee!

This is an end of an era. My final Cam23 post. But it's not goodbye, as the title may suggest, it's just au revoir.

May 24th 2010 saw the launch of the Cam 23 programme. On May 24th I was but a mere web 2.0 wannabe. I had dipped my toe into a lot of the 2.0 pools and adopted a few of them, but I hadn't really examined any in real depth, or had the time or the reason to.

13 weeks later, it is August 19th and I find myself with a Blog and 23 blog posts. I doubt this would ever have happened without Cam23 to push me over the blogging edge. I'd thought about blogging before, sure. But I didn't really think I had anything to say. I wouldn't say that Marsh's b(l)og has changed my life, but it has definitely given me an outlet to order my thoughts and get them down on (virtual) paper. After all, thoughts aren't much good to anyone if they stay in your head are they?I've been genuinely surprised and pleased that people have taken the time to read and comment on my posts and if I have managed to help anyone with anything in the process then that is an added bonus.

I think I will continue with Marsh's b(l)og, even if I am the only one who will benefit from it as a cathartic exercise. In the future I will enjoy choosing my own subjects and not being quite so pressed for time. Writing doesn't come naturally to me but blogging has definitely helped me with my prose and I think I should continue with that.

So which 'Things' have I adopted that I wasn't using before?  As I said above, this blog. Also Slideshare and Flickr. I knew about these two Things before but hadn't looked into them in any great depth. I will use the search facility in Slideshare more often  and I have created a Flikr account for myself which I intend to add to imminently.  I will also try to keep Zotero going in the background.

The jury is still out about  linkedin and LibrayThing. These aren't floating my boat, but at least I gave them a go...

I was already using of all the other Things, pre-23 Things,  and I will carry on with those as normal. I couldn't live without my Google calendar and I am rapidly deserting Facebook for twitter which is my current Fave!

All in all though, Cambridge 23 Things has been an exercise in getting to know you! (why is this turning into a Sound of Music Fest??) I feel that I have forged some good friendships and links out there in the virtual Cam Lib community, even if some of you are still hiding behind your pseudonyms! I hope we can continue in a similar vein and I will be attending the communication meeting next week. I'm going to be working for libraries@cambridge again as of September 1st and hopefully will be in a position to help with communication across Cambridge libraries. I'm all ears!

See you in the future!

P.s. Big thanks go to the Cam 23 organising team. It's been a big effort as a participant, I can't imagine what it's been like for you guys!

What's in a Name?

Did I fall or was I pushed into this blogging thing? A bit of both.

Even though I am a very reluctant writer (could try harder read my school English report) and other people reading my stuff quite frankly brings me out in a terror sweat, I must admit that I already had a name lined up for that 'eventual' Blog. Now that eventual blog has become reality thanks to Cam23, the pushers, and thanks to my falling into an addiction to other web 2.0 librarian bloggers (Ange Fitzpatrick mostly and Librarian in Black ), my coping strategy is to just write to myself. Hence, the 'notes to self' above.

On another note to self, may I be excused for the pun in the title? When you've grown up with a surname like Marsh and heard all the variants (Marshmallow, March, and even Mash) you either get married or learn to love your name. I did the latter. So when presented with a golden opportunity to put my name to good use, I took it.

Now bogof and read some other b(l)og!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexbrn/4033952895/