Holding all the threads - RSS

Get tired of flipping through all your favourite sites to see what's new? Ever wish someone ELSE would keep an eye on them for you and let you know when an update was in?

Behold - a FEED READER might be just what you need!

Many websites now allow their latest content to be shared as RSS. This techno-term really just means that the content is published in XML format and can be read by specially designed websites called feed readers. Content including blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video can all be accessed by feed readers providing the home site has it as an RSS feed.

I use a site called Bloglines (www.bloglines.com) to keep track of my favourite RSS feeds. There are plenty of others - Amphetadesk, FeedReader, and NewsGator. Try some - they all have slightly different features but the main thing is: they can grab the NEW stuff from your FAVOURITE sites and you can see it all on one page!

So - what can you keep track of with feed readers? I'm a current affairs junkie, so I love the ABC News RSS, and political blogs from Australian correspondents: these are often available through the websites of major daily newspapers. In my "other hat" as a horse trainer, I like to keep an eye on what's new in the local and international Quarter Horse scene, so I subscribe to the feed from the National Reining Horse Association site. And in my professional capacity as a library assistant, I can keep track of events, training opportunities, and news from regional and national libraries. I particularly love this blog: http://www.ipl.org/ - the Internet Public Library. It is full of GREAT resources for teacher-librarians, and the info is all FREE!

I love feed readers primarily for the TIME it saves me in searching sites that may (or MAY NOT!) have been updated.

Want to know more but don't want loads of technojargo? Try this site:

http://www.whatisrss.com/ - it's RSS 101! :)