What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. RSS is a file format that is used to deliver regularly updated information over the web. In order to read this RSS information, you need to use some type of RSS reader. There are tons of them out there. If you participated in the original Nebraska Learns 2.0, you might remember in Thing #6 you used the Bloglines reader.
The great thing about using RSS feeds is that it brings information from many sources to one central location – your RSS reader. When you have been out surfing the web, have you seen any of these funny icons? When you see one of those icons it means there is an RSS feed available. In addition to the icons, you may simply see wording that says RSS, Subscribe, Posts or other creative wording. RSS feeds are all over the web, but some of the common places you may run across them are on blogs and news sites. Here are just a few sites where you can find feeds:
- Omaha World Herald
- Scottsbluff Star Herald
- Kearney Hub
- Nebraska Library Commission
- Unshelved (Library cartoon)
- Library Journal
- You can even set up an RSS feed for search results from the Wilson OmniFile database. After performing a search, look for the RSS icon towards the top of the screen.
RSS in Plain English (3:44) is a short video that does a great job of explaining what RSS is.
Getting Started with Google Reader
Before we dive into the Google Reader, let’s start off by watching this short video.
In order to use Google Reader, you will need a Google Account. If you don’t a Google Account, don’t panic – if you have a Blogger account that username and password should work with Google Reader. Let’s get started by going on to Google Reader (http://reader.google.com/) and logging on. As I just mentioned you can use either your Google account information or your Blogger account information. If you do not have either of those, you will need to Create an Account.
Next you need to add some feeds. There are many ways you can do this.
- If you know the URL of a feed, copy the URL. In Google Reader click the Add a subscription button and paste the URL in the box.
- Do you have a favorite website that you visit regularly to check for new information? See if the site has an RSS feed.
- No idea what feed you want to subscribe to? That’s OK. Click on the Add a subscription button in Google Reader. Now enter a search term and click Add. The system will return a list of feeds matching your search term. The result list includes helpful information including the number of subscribers and number of posts per week. To view the feed before you subscribe, click on the feed name. To subscribe, click on the Subscribe button.
- In Google Reader you can also Browse for Stuff. On the left hand side of the screen is a link to Browse for Stuff. You can locate individual feeds or grab a Bundle. We’ll talk more about Bundles later on.
- Already have your favorite feeds set up in Bloglines? You can easily export them and then import them into Google Reader. In Bloglines go to My Feeds – Edit - Export Subscriptions. Save the OPML file to your computer. In Google Reader go to Settings – Import/Export and upload the OMPL file.
Reading Your Feeds
Now that you have feeds it’s time to read them. This Google video does a great job of explaining how to read feeds.
The video is seven months old and during that time they added a new feature I wanted to make sure you’re aware of. There is now a small arrow on the Mark All As Read button. Clicking the arrow allows you to select if you want to mark everything as read or only those items that are older than one day, one week or two weeks.
Stars and Like
An easy way to keep track of an item that you enjoy or want to reference in the future is to star it. When viewing an item, there is an outline of a star next to the title of the item and a star and the wording Add Star at the bottom of the item. Clicking on either star will turn the star yellow. In the future, you can go back and view the items you starred by clicking on the Starred Items link on the left hand side of the screen.
Did you read an item you liked? Would you like to tell the world, or at least other Google Reader users, that you liked it? Click on the Like button located underneath the item. Keep in mind that everyone who reads that same feed as you do in Google Reader will be able to see that you Like an item. Check out Google Help to learn more about this feature.
Sharing Items
Now that you’re reading all of these feeds maybe you want to start sharing some of the great information you've read. Google Reader offers a number of ways to share information. The Share and Share With Note options located at the bottom of each item allows you to share an item with the world or with a selected group of friends simply by clicking on either of the links. Before you start sharing, you should check your Sharing Settings. In this area you can also search for selected friends. Sharing Settings is located under the People You Follow area on the left side of the screen. If you don't see the Sharing Settings link, click on the small plus sign next to People You Follow wording.
Another way to share an item is to email it. At the bottom of each item there is an email link. Clicking on it will create an email.
On August 12th, Google Reader introduced another way to share items. It’s called Send to… It’s an easy way to share a post to other sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger, to name just a few. Read the post on the Google Reader Blog to learn how to use this feature.
In addition to sharing individual items, you can also share a list of feeds with your friends. A list of feeds is called a Bundle. If your friends have created any bundles you will see them listed in the Browse for Stuff area. You can access it by clicking on Browse for Stuff on the left hand side of the screen. In this area, you can also create your own bundles. If you would like to see how bundles work you can add me (librarianallana) as a person you are sharing with. Then you will be able to see the two bundles I've created. One of the Bundles is a list of feeds from libraries across the state. (If you know of any feeds I've missed, please let me know.)
In addition to sharing individual items, you can also share a list of feeds with your friends. A list of feeds is called a Bundle. If your friends have created any bundles you will see them listed in the Browse for Stuff area. You can access it by clicking on Browse for Stuff on the left hand side of the screen. In this area, you can also create your own bundles. If you would like to see how bundles work you can add me (librarianallana) as a person you are sharing with. Then you will be able to see the two bundles I've created. One of the Bundles is a list of feeds from libraries across the state. (If you know of any feeds I've missed, please let me know.)
Assignment
- Sign up for a Google Reader account.
- Add the feed for Nebraska Learns 2.0 to your reader. (Follow the link, copy the URL and add the URL to Google Reader.)
- Follow two of your fellow Nebraska Learns 2.0 participants' blogs. The list of blogs can be found on the Participants page. Before adding a feed you may want to look at their blog and see how actively they are blogging.
- Add three more feeds of your choice. They can be anything you want.
- Set up and use the Send To option to share an item to your blog.
- Blog about your experience using Google Reader. If you have used another reader, how does it compare to Google Reader?
