This document provides an introduction to RSS (Really Simple Syndication) and RSS aggregators. It begins by explaining the fundamental problem with the traditional web and hyperlinks, which is that users must manually check websites for updates. RSS addresses this by allowing websites to syndicate updates through feeds that users can subscribe to using an RSS aggregator. This aggregates updates from multiple sites in one place and alerts users to new content. The document then provides tips on using RSS aggregators effectively, such as organizing subscriptions into folders, adopting different reading modes, and archiving important posts offline.

1. An Introduction to RSS
Aggregators and Their Use
Alabama Digital Humanities Center Workshop
February 10, 2012
Steven L. MacCall, PhD
Associate Professor
School of Library and Information Studies
The University of Alabama

2. RSS: NOT Any of These, Tom 
 ...Real Smart Simians...
 ...Ravingly Simple Salads...
 ...Raunchy Savory Samples...
 ...Realtime Smart Slippers...
 ...Rapidly Shrinking Sandboxes...

3. Goals for Today
 What is RSS?
 What fundamental problem does it address?
 How does it address this problem?
 Practical RSS aggregator use tips:
 Monitoring the “flow” of the Web
 “Modes” of using RSS aggregators

4. What’s the Problem?

5. Fundamental Problem with the Web
 … and yes, it has to do with the hyperlink!
 When I click a hyperlink, what happens?
 In a basic sense, I am sending a message to a server
somewhere on the web that serves as a request to
retrieve one of the documents stored on that server
for subsequent viewing of that document on my
client machine.

6. So, What’s the Problem?
 This entire process seems like the opposite of being
problematic … what could be more simple than
clicking on hyperlinks???
 Well, like many things, problems emerge when
seemingly simple systems must scale up to meet the
demands required of a real world application:
 The emergence of tens of thousands, if not millions, of
usable websites out there
 The lack of consistent content structuring across these
resources:
 New York Times and Washington Post
 University of Alabama Libraries and Auburn Libraries

7. A Statement of the Problem + Time
 The combination of the explosive growth of
inconsistently structured web resources coupled with
the fixed amount of time available for reading such
resources leads to aggravation.
 And, yes, I am blaming this entirely on the lowly
little hyperlink:
 I must click on the hyperlink every time I want to check a
website for new information
 This results in inefficiency … many times, I waste
precious time by revisiting a website that has not updated
since my last visit

8. Irony: Print Resources Address Problem!
 Newspapers, periodicals, and yes, even books, will
ALERT US when they are ready to be read:
 They show up in our mailboxes
 They appear on the new book shelf
 Further, each of these types of resources has a
predictable structural identity:
 I know how to “use” a newspaper or periodical
 I know how to “use” a book

9. The Role of Web Content Aggregation
 The solution on the web is to aggregate your
resources of interest into a single place:
 I would then want to be alerted whenever one of my
favorite websites was updated
 I would want a standardized appearance for my selected
resources
 To create this environment, web developers had to
attack the basic problem of one-way hyperlink
communication (from client to server) and provide a
mechanism for communication in the other direction
(from server to client).

10. Enter RSS!!
 Acronym for:
 Really Simple Syndication
 Rich Site Summary
 And others
 Today we are interested in how RSS can reduce the
aggravation of keeping track of new information on
hundreds (or more) of websites.

11. RSS Definition
 RSS is an XML-encoding standard for generating a
feed of a website’s changes.
 It is a service that is made available by webmasters:
 RSS logo:
 On a blog
 UA Libraries new book shelf
OR
 RSS icon:
 NY Times
 UA Libraries Library and Information Science LibGuide

12. How Do RSS Feeds Help?
 Webmasters uses RSS to syndicate their content:
 The result is a feed of all changes
 However, individuals must subscribe to these feeds
 Therefore, whenever you see a or a , you can
subscribe to that website
 But how does this help?

13. The Missing Link: RSS Aggregators
 In order to take advantage of the increasing number
of available RSS feeds, one needs software through
which to subscribe to individual feeds.
 Generally, these are referred to as RSS Aggregators,
but also as:
 Feed reading software
 Blog reading software
 RSS readers
 A convenient list of RSS Readers:
http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3531486

14. Google Reader
 In our short amount of time today, we are going to
look at Google Reader:
http://www.google.com/reader.
 Read, and communicate with to each other in order
to experience this new way to monitor websites …
it’s definitely a skill that you can help you deal with
your information future!

15. Practical RSS Aggregator Use Tips

16. Your RSS Aggregator as Infrastructure
 Building infrastructure can be painful. 
 Using infrastructure can be transparent. 

17. Foldering your Subscriptions
 Most aggregators allow you to maintain folders for
your subscriptions.
 A well organized aggregator makes for more
efficient Web content monitoring!
 Alas, Google Reader only allows for one level of
hierarchical depth! 

18. Get into “Flow” of Web Conversations
 You can think of a lot of Web content in terms of a
conversational flow:
 Do you really want to take part in *every* conversation at the next
cocktail party that you attend?
 Topics often repeat (often an indicator of their importance!)
 Should have a strategy for using your RSS aggregator:
 What to read now
 What to read later

19. Tip #1: Read Now, Read Later or Toss
 Read now: Reading now is ALWAYS an option, but it’s not a
sustainable general strategy.
 Read later:
 “Keep unread” check box will preserve the content in your
aggregator
 Clicking on star button will place a post in a “to be read” location
 Toss: If you do not want to read the post now or at a later
time, you can simply ignore the post and it will not reappear
in your browser. (However, you can always retrieved tossed
posts!)

20. Tip #2: Multiple Reading Mode Strategy
 Remember the flow of Web conversation:
 The Web is a graph with several billion directed edges (i.e.,
hyperlinks) connecting tens of billion pages with embedded
conversations)
 This graph structure affords great redundancy so that an important
topic is rarely ignored, but will repeat as people continue to converse
 To deal with this underlying conversational infrastructure
you should have two modes for reading in your RSS
aggregator:
 Browsing mode: Quickly examine posts; use the “keep unread” or
starring functions for posts of interest and toss remaining posts
 Reading mode: Returned to saved posts in a reading mode that
allows for better comprehension

21. Tip #3: Archive Important Posts Offline
 Sometimes, you’ll want to archive important posts
for later retrieval.
 A built in strategy of most RSS Aggregators, such as
Google Reader, is to email a post.
 In your email, you can organize these posts by
subject.
 I use this method to organize those posts that I know
will impact my writing at some unspecified future
time.

22. In Conclusion
 Trust the conversational flow.
 Have a thoughtful “mode” when using your RSS
Aggregator.
 Share!