RSS feeds — how to use them.
I’m always surprised at the great disparity of knowledge when it comes to using the various forms of social media. Hanging out on Twitter, I feel like a tech yokel, since so many of the Twitter crowd have serious technical chops. But with many of my family and friends, I get blank looks when I talk about something as routine (to me) as using RSS feeds.
The short version of this: If you like reading blogs and news, and you DON’T already use an RSS reader (a.k.a. a feed reader), you should START using one right away. It will make your life much simpler.
Lucky for you, there are great tutorials available on how to do this. For your ease of use, I’ve embedded a handy video, “RSS in English,” from the fine folks at the Common Craft Show:
Enjoy!
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A great video, but it’s too bad the only feedreader options listed are web-based. Firefox and IE7’s browser-based RSS integrations are both well-suited to certain user types.
Thanks for the note, Rob. The first feedreader I ever used was the Sage reader built into Firefox. I switched to Bloglines because I so frequently switch between computers at home and work, and it made more sense to have a Web-based tool. My main goal is to open up the big wide world of RSS to those who don’t already use it.
Great post, this will help me explain what I do to the rest of my family. :) Does Hoovers support RSS monitoring of their searches? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.
Scott — That’s a good question, but one for which I don’t know the answer. I’ll query and get back to you.
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