TheAgitator.com
Really Simple Syndication
Monday, March 8th, 2004My name is Brian and I’m an information addict.
I often spend hours scanning the newspaper, magazines, online news sources, message boards, and blogs. Often, I will find myself visiting the same website several times a day, just to make sure I haven’t missed anything. For some of you, my problem will sound too familiar.
My solution…
RSS, or “really simple syndication” is an XML spec for syndication of online content, some of you may have heard it referred to as a feed. Radley has a link to his over on the menu that says “XML/Syndicate”, and many other bloggers, as well as a growing number of news sources, are beginning to make RSS feeds of their content freely available.
If that last paragraph didn’t make any sense to you, let me put it another way. RSS probably saves me an hour or two a day. Instead of visiting 100+ websites and checking each one for new content, I click a single button and the results come back to me instantly. In fact, my program can be set up to automatically check my feeds at a regular time each day. I immediately see which sites are updated along with a quick blurb about the story, and if I’m interested I can click on a link that takes me to the actual story. Sound simple? It is.
Personally, I’ve been using a program called NewsGator. It runs in Microsoft Outlook, delivering contents to folders in the program that I already use every day. Of course, there are many other aggregators out there.
The possible applications of RSS are vast. Companies can save network resources by eliminating company-wide emails that apply only to a small number of employees. Legitimate advertisers, instead of using spam, can make offers available through RSS, thereby targeting only customers who really wish to recieve the notices. Organizations that distribute newsletters through email can avoid the hassle of being blacklisted as spammers.
Check it out… you’ll see what I mean.
“RSS probably saves me an hour or two a day”
What in the world would I do with all that spare time while at work?
ouch…Telecom’s Latest Casualty
I was going to ask why you would need that extra time…unless you found another job?
Is this from the notorious Gator?
If it is I would be wary.
Sounds like a great application, except for the fact you’ll hammered with spyware.
If you have a Yahoo! account, it offers a beta of RSS for your start page. I have about a quarter of my most-visited blogs and newssites entered. It’s pretty convenient.
I visit the TheAgitator.com, Why would I need another blog to visit?
Lee: I have been using NewsGator for months, and I can vouch for it NOT being part of the spyware family. Just fyi.
I would save a lot more time if I didnt read blog posts where i didnt know what in the hell you are talking about.
Dani- probably find more sites to browse.
Frank - Are you already trying for Agity commenter 2004?
Frank N,
I haven’t found another job just yet, but there’s something pretty big in the works.
I’ve been freelancing some projects in the meantime, and I’m still waking up at six o’clock every morning… stupid internal clock.
The problem with NewsGator is it requires Microsoft Outlook, and when I tried the shareware, it wouldn’t always get all the posts. FeedDemon by BradSoft smokes NewsGator.
http://www.bradsoft.com/
Travis- Yes but I thought I’d just send Jennifer Eccleston wrapped in a bow to Radley’s front door.
Brian-Good Luck.
Sleep is a waste of time.
RSS doesn’t save me any time. I still spend the same amount of time infoscanning but now I cover a lot more ground.
I’ve found Desktop Sidebar to be a nice freeware feed aggregator. It does a lot of other cool stuff too. Doesn’t require integration with any other software like Outlook. Did I mention it’s free?
Another application of RSS is the No Treason Metablog, an aggregation of feeds from a half dozen quality market anarchist oriented blogs. Also free. For now.