This document discusses using RSS feeds to create a personalized home page for staying up-to-date on news and information from favorite websites and blogs. It explains what RSS is and how to use RSS feeds to subscribe to content updates from multiple sources in one interface. It provides instructions for setting up accounts on Google Reader or Netvibes and subscribing to feeds from websites to organize content on the home page. Users are encouraged to find a few sites they use daily and add them to their personalized home page through RSS feeds.

1. Personalized home pages
WBI Social Reporting Apprenticeship
Program
October 2012

2. What’s all about
 Using RSS feeds to set up a personal
home page
– to ‘read’ the web in a different way
– to save time when looking for new
content
 It’s the first thing I check in the morning –
also before my mailbox!
 Allows me keep on top of the news and
the information I need to know for my
work and my interests

3. RSS what?!
Really Simple Syndication
 A publishing format
that lets you to
subscribe to and
receive latest
updates from your
favourite blogs and
sites all from within
a single newsreader
program

4. RSS – A better definition…
Ready for some stories!

5. Key functions it supports
 Managing your information flow, to keep
track of latest updates from your
favourites sources
 Working more efficiently by subscribing to
feeds and see what’s new from multiple
sources, in one single interface
 Monitoring what the media is saying about
your project/programme/organization

6. Example: Monitoring the media
 You can subscribe to keywords searched
in Google News
 New stories will come up in Google
Reader

7. How to use it
 Create an account
– Google Reader or Netvibes
• Google reader as personal home page
• Netvibes good to create public home
pages
 Subscribe to feeds
– Two clicks; by url
 Organize your content
– Using tags and folders; in tabs

8. Three clicks subscription

9. ‘Polite’ feeds…
See also http://euforicservices.com

10. …Clean list in your Reader

11. When feeds are not polite…
Copy feed URL…

12. Copy feed url

13. Add feed url in your reader

14. Creating public pages - Netvibes

15. Add content by url

16. Using Feedly on top of Your Google
Reader

17. Why Feedly?
 Giving Google Reader a nicer interface
– Magazine style
 Importing Twitter and Facebook content
 Leveraging on 'social engagement', to see
on your front page the most popular items
from your sources
 Great mobile Apps – looking even better
than the desktop version!

18. Flipboard – Social magazine for
mobiles and tablets

19. Hands on exercise
 Go to http://www.google.com/ig
– Log in with your own username and
password;
Or
 Create an account at http://netvibes.com
 Find 3/5 sites or blogs that you use daily
– If RSS is available, subscribe to it
 Add one or two gadgets

20. Personalized home pages
WBI Social Reporting Apprenticeship
Program
October 2012