News Feeds (RSS), Wikis and Blogs

RSS News Feed

What is a Feed? A feed is a way of syndicating content. It normally includes a headline, a brief description and a link to the full story. It’s a way for you to get site updates without going to the site. Feeds are written in XML (Extensible Markup Language) using a special format. It’s this special format that enables news aggregators to read them.

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NOTE: The feed URL for BU computing news is http://training.binghamton.edu/feeds/news/newsRSS.xml.

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There are two different types of feeds:

• RSS (Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication)
• Atom

Although both are written using XML; they differ slightly in their format. RSS feeds are the most common, and you will find them on many websites.

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NOTE: Podcastsare also considered feeds, except they deliver audio and/or video content. They conform to RSS 2.0 specifications.

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How can you tell if a site contains an RSS feed? Sites that contain RSS feeds will normally have either a small XML logo ( ), or abbreviations RSSor XMLsomewhere on the site. If a site has an XML logo or the RSS or XML abreviations, just click on them to get the url for the feed.

News Aggragators

A news aggregator (or feed reader) is a program that delivers your requested feeds. It brings them in from web sites you have asked it to monitor. A news aggregator allows you to keep track of information on a number of sites. Rather than going to several sites and checking in various places for new information, the feed reader collects all of the new information and puts it in one place. You then can choose what you want to open from the various sites. There are four basic types:

1. Web-based news aggregator.
   - Newsgator is a web-based product that allows you to access your feeds from any computer connected to the Web. The first time you log in, you must create an account. (www.newsgator.com) 
   
   
   
   
   - Right-click a feed to unsubscribe, rename or visit the site.
   - The Add Feeds feature shows listings to choose from or allows you to search for a feed.
   - Uncheck an item to delete it. (It will be gone when you refresh.)
   - The Disk Icon saves items to Clippings.
   - The Envelope Icon emails a link via your email program.
2. Live bookmarks through the browser Mozilla Firefox.
   - To create a Live Bookmark, go to Bookmarks/Manage Bookmarks and choose File/New Live Bookmark.
   
   
   
   - In the Properties box, type the URL of the feed and a brief description.
   
   
   
   - Another way to add a Live Bookmark is to click on the Live Bookmark icon in the Address Locator near the top of the page. A dialog box prompts you to accept or change the Name and Create in: entries.
   
   
   
   - In Mozilla Firefox, going to Tools/Extensions and clicking Get more Extensions will give you access too other tools to manage your Live Bookmarks.
3. Downloaded news aggregator.
   - RSS Owl www.rssowl.org and FeedReader www.feedreader.com are two examples of feed readers that you may download from the Web. These are software products that you install onto your computer then configure them to receive the feeds you want to receive. (Go to their site and follow the steps to download.)
   
   
   
   - To add a new feed, go to Tools/Search for Newsfeeds.
   
   
   
   - Type your search criteria in the Enter Search field.
   - Check the feeds you would like and select Import.
   - Add the feed to the appropriate category or create a new category.
4. Email programs with feed reader features.
   - Mozilla Thunderbird is an example of an email program that has the capability to read feeds.
   
   - To create a folder for feeds:

• Go to File/New/Account and check RSS News and Blogs and click Next.
• Enter an Account Name and click Next.
• Then click Finish.
  
  To Add or Remove a feed:
• Right-click the folder you created and choose Manage Subscriptions.
• Then select the feed and choose Remove or select Add and fill in the dialog box:
  
  
   
• You may also choose Edit to change information on the selected feed or Import to use someone else’s feed setup or Export to share you feed setup.

General News Aggragator Information

• You can share your list of feeds with others and get their feeds by importing and exporting. (The language is opml - outline processor markup language.)
• When subscribing to feeds for the first time, be careful to not subscribe to too many. Also, watch the settings such as alerts that the downloaded news aggregators have.
• News aggregators are similar to being on a mailing list except it’s not clogging up your inbox.
• A site with further information that includes a tutorial link: training.binghamton.edu/contentsyndication/default.html.
• An example of an RSS formatted document:
  

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NOTE: Some news aggregators that charge a fee to download, but most are free.

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