#6 Make life "really simple" with RSS & a newsreader

Have you heard of RSS? Maybe you’ve seen the little orange RSS symbols on websites? Perhaps you’ve heard co-workers and acquaintances swear by it, but still have no idea what RSS is? Well don’t worry, according to this survey you’re still in the majority, but this is changing rapidly.

In the information world, RSS is not only revolutionalizing the way news, media and content creators share information, but it also is swiftly changing the way everyday users are consuming information.

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is a file format for delivering regularly updated information over the web. Just think about the websites and news information sources you visit every day. It takes time to visit those sites and scour the ad-filled and image-heavy pages for just the text you want to read, doesn’t it?

Now imagine if you could visit all those information sources and web pages in just one place and all at the same time … without being bombarded with advertising… without having to search for new information on the page you’d already seen or read before… and without having to consume a lot of time visiting each site individually. Would that be valuable to you? Well, it’s available now through an RSS reader.

This week’s discovery exercises focus on learning about RSS news feeds and setting up a Google Reader or Bloglines account to bring your feeds together.

Discovery Resources:

1. Watch this video - RSS in Plain English
Credit: Common Craft.

2. Read Newbie's Guide to Google Reader
Now that you have background and understanding about RSS and readers, it's time for some Discovery Exercises:

Discovery Exercise:

1. Select a reader and create a free account.

• Bloglines. Tutorial.
• NVDPL Introduction to Bloglines Powerpont Tutorial
• NVDPL Bloglines II Powerpont Tutorial
• Google Reader. Tutorial. Tour. We recommend Google Reader especially if you set up your blog in Blogger because you already have a Google account!

2. Now add at least 5 blog sites to your reader plus any news sources you may want to follow. Most likely, you will be pasting the address into the links bar inside the reader to add the feeds you choose. Just follow the directions provided with your reader.

Here are some suggested blogs and feeds to look at. You may select others by going to Google Blog Search and searching keywords of your choice.

• Unshelved (Library cartoon)
• LIS news
  
• Lithe Librarian: Adventures of an Auxiliary. Book reviews and reflections on adventures in the library world.
  
• We read banned books and other stuff too... The (unofficial) blog of the BCLA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee.
  

3. Create a post in your blog about RSS. You might want to consider some of these questions:

• What do you like about RSS and newsreaders?
• How do you think you might be able to use this technology in your school or personal life?
• How can libraries use RSS or take advantage of this new technology?

4. Optional: Make your reader list public. Provide a link to your public Bloglines account or create a public page with Google Reader.

Sharing information is a key component for 21st Century life-long learners and you have made that activity easy now that you have an RSS reader set up. Have fun reading all about whatever!