Blogs and RSS

Blogs and RSS

10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Use RSS


This articles assumes some basic knowledge about RSS. To find out out about RSS, please refer to the following links:

There is a difference, of course, between knowing what something is and knowing why you should consider using it within your organizations. RSS, and other web feeds, are used in two primary ways: to consume content and to disseminate it. Essentially, it's the two parts of the web: read and write.

So, here goes -- 10 reasons nonprofits should use RSS.

  1. Read the web. So, how many bookmarks do you have in your browser? How many of them have new information? Does it make you sick to your stomach to think of clicking through all of those to discover whether or not the website owners have added new, interesting content? Via RSS, you can subscribe to many websites and very easily find out whether there is new relevant content. My bookmarks no longer scare me. In fact, I rarely use them.
  2. Discover relevant information. For people without a desire to spelunk on the web, finding things and checking back has been a chore. Many folks approach Google like it's a library card catalog. I want to find out about X and so I'll search on Google and then trust in its algorithm and click through the links on the first, oh, two, let's say, pages. RSS allows you to tap important, relevant, even mission-critical information by enabling the creation of feeds based on keywords (how this happens varies but there are a variety of tools -- PubSub, technorati, feedster -- that you can use and many aggregators integrate with those tools in way that allows you to create searches). So, let's say you work for an organization that is following issues pertaining to same sex civil unions and/or marriages. You can set up some keyword searches and then subscribe to those searches. This can allow relevant information to come to you.
  3. Share the information you get. One of the nice things about RSS is that information comes to you in manageable chunks: a NYTimes headline with a sentence-long article summary; a complete weblog entry; a teaser for a longer weblog entry; the pointer to a newsgroup posting; an email announcement list; events. You can push that information out to communities who may interested -- simply send it via email or put it on your own blog.
  4. Participate in conversations. Okay, RSS is just an enabler here. Why should you care what people are saying about the issues you're interested in? Well, if it's the New York Times or own local paper that interest can be self-evident (we certainly have framed NY Times articles gracing the entry way to our offices). But what about what people are saying on weblogs or on community sites like Tribe? Knowing what they are saying -- and where they are saying it -- gives you the opportunity to participate in the conversation. You make a comment on someone's website or participate in a message board thread. This helps to further the conversation and distributes your content (you'll sign your comment right? and include your organization's web presence?) around the web. This makes the web a richer place but it also helps to generate attention to the issues you are working on.
  5. Control your own subscriptions. Here's the truth: unsubscribing from some mailing lists, announcements, or other outreach is, how do you say, a chore. You have to click a link that, about half the time, merely confirms that you are a real, live body receiving email. You can't remember how it is that you elected to receive the information and, most critical to me, it ends up mixed in with the ebb-and-flow of your inbox and, hence, gets in the way of getting work done. RSS gives you complete control. You can easily segment your feed (it's hard to set up an email filter for something you don't know you are receiving) from your regular email. You can even use a non-email client aggregator.
  6. Allow people to trade your good content like it's a baseball card. It may sound like I'm being flip. I'm not; I swear. Hook yourself up with an RSS feed (to see an organization trying to talk through that read this thread on TechSoup, TechSoup newsfeed please!). It allows people to very easily trade your good relevant content and that's exactly what you want right? It happens at almost no cost to you.
  7. Other people can lend you a bit of their web real estate. Okay, this one is a little harder. But RSS does offer up the possibility of allowing other organizations to display some of your content on their website. This is good. It gets your content out to a variety of audiences and it can greatly enhance relevant partnerships. The best part? They don't actually have to talk to you for this to happen. Painless content partnerships. What more could anyone want?
  8. Avoid being a spammer. Opt-in, double opt-in. Allowing people to subscribe via RSS puts complete control into their hands and gets you completely off the spammer hook. Okay, so some email publishers (as Bill Pease says in this TechSoup thread, Is email dead?) hate that. It's hard to track traffic and click thrus, and it puts control completely in the hands of the subscriber and not the publisher. I just don't agree. If you are creating good content people will subscribe and they will stay subscribed. That means that, ultimately, the control is really in your hands. Compelling content works better than anything else. Oh yeah, not being a spammer isn't just an ethical (and increasingly legal issue) not being a spammer also means that you message will get to your intended audience and not dumped into a spam filter.
  9. Contribute to web-wide conversations. Okay, if you're using RSS to track what people are saying about important issues and what people are saying about you, so are other folks. By making your content available via RSS, you're allowing other people to discover you. And they'll be commenting on your site, linking to it, and (here's the kicker) subscribing to your RSS feed and not just stumbling across you in their own keyword searches.
  10. It's only just beginning. RSS is in relatively early stages. The tools are still pretty raw but it pays for nonprofits, in their efforts to gain mindshare for the change they are trying to make, it get in on the ground floor of these types of communication technologies. It'll better position you to take advantage of them as they mature and additional uses become available.
[This originally appeared on extension 337]

A Brief Look at Blogs, Feeds and Aggregators - Presentation Outline

A Nonprofit Guide to Getting Started with RSS

  1. Decide what type of aggregator you want to use
    1. web-based -- why would you choose this? recommend: bloglines (xplatform)
      1. You work on a variety of different computers
      2. You are usually connected to the internet
      3. You want to use an application -- browser -- that you already have on your machine
      4. You want to be able to access your information on public access computers
    2. mail client -- why would you choose this? recommend: Newsgator (need Mac and Linux recommendations)
    4. You live in Outlook
    5. You want to be able to easily email the information
    6. You store a wide variety of information in outlook folders
    7. You use one computer primarily
    8. You want to be able to use an application already on your computer
    9. You don't typically use public access computers
  2. stand alone application -- why would you choose this? recommend: Feed Demon; NetNewsWire (Windows only; need a Mac and Linux recommendation)
    1. The thought of more information in your email inbox makes you sweat
    2. You use a single computer
    3. You prefer using specialized applications
    4. You do not wish to add additional plug-ins to outlook (this can make it hard for you technical staff to support the application)
    5. You want to organize this type of information with a specialized application
  • Sign up for feeds of interest
    1. Point to an OPML file that would be of interest to nonprofits
    2. when you are on a website that has frequently updated information, check to see if they have a feed
  • Sign up for an account at PubSub, Feedster and Technorati
    1. Watch your url
    2. Watch the name of your organization
    3. Watch partners
    4. Watch key funders
    5. Watch bills or other legislative efforts that are of interest
    6. Watch topic areas
  • Share the information you find
      Set up a blog at blogger

    1. Post to your weblog
    2. Make sure you turned on the RSS option
  • Email your good interesting finds to people who will like them
  • Do this, every day, for 6 months. No excuses. Spend an hour.
  • Measure the results.

    So, an outstanding question is, what results should you look for?

    • Blogs and RSS resources

    Understanding Blogs and RSS

    Blogging for Change by Rebecca MacKinnon
    http://rconversation.blogs.com/rconversation/files/blogging_handoutrevised.pdf
    An overview containing links to nonprofit/activist weblogs, tools, and information about the ways in which a weblog can help your organization.

    An Introduction to Weblogs by Sarah Hawkins
    http://www.techsoup.org/howto/articlepage.cfm?ArticleId=439
    This TechSoup article provides a starting place for thinking about weblogs for nonprofit leaders.

    Wikipedia Entry: Weblog
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weblogs
    Wikipedia, the free, community developed encyclopedia, gives a basic definition of weblogs.

    Wikipedia Entry: RSS
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28protocol%29
    Wikipeida, the free, community developed encyclopedia, gives a basic definition of weblogs.

    FaganFinder’s All About RSS
    http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml
    A comprehensive guide and tutorial regarding RSS and other types of web feeds.

    Doc Searls' closing keynote at Les Blogs 2004
    http://www.searls.com/doc/2005lesblogs/
    How do we define blogs? What they are matters.

    So, you wanna start a blog?
    http://www.consultantcommons.org/node/213
    An 11 step guide to getting your weblog going.

    Organizational Use of Weblogs

    Nonprofit Weblogs
    http://www.omidyar.net/group/compumentor/ws/nonprofit_blogs/
    This Omidyar workspace page contains an editable list of nonprofit weblogs arranged by service area.

    “Big Media� Meets the “Bloggers�: Coverage of Trent Lott’s Remarks at Strom Thurmond’s Birthday Party
    http://www.ksg.harvard.edu/presspol/Research_Publications/Case_Studies/1731_0.pdf
    This case study, from Harvard’s Joan Shorenstein Center on the Press, Politics and Public Policy, examines the role that weblogs played in Trent Lott’s decision to step down from the role of Senate majority leader.

    Weblog Tools Market: Update February 2005
    http://www.elise.com/web/a/weblog_tools_market_update_february_2005.php
    A weblog entry uses Google as a proxy to determine the relative penetration of various weblog tools.

    Blog Software Breakdown
    http://www.asymptomatic.net/blogbreakdown.htm
    A resource to use as a starting point in determining which weblog software to use.

    Blogdissecting (Anatomy of a Weblog)
    http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/blogshop/archives/000050.html
    A tour through some of the typical parts of a weblog.

    Organizational Use of RSS

    Aggregators
    http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/directory/5/aggregators
    A list of feed readers from Harvard Law School.

    A Nonprofit Guide to Getting Started with RSS
    http://www.consultantcommons.org/node/105
    An evolving guide of practical tips and suggestions for using RSS in your organization.

    Lazy Person’s Guide to Becoming a NewsMaster
    http://www.bryght.com/guides/lazy-newsmaster
    A series providing tips for using information tools to maximum benefit.

    10 Reasons Nonprofits Should Use RSS
    http://www.consultantcommons.org/node/47
    What RSS can do for your organization.

    Non-profits: are blogs better than websites?
    http://blog.krazy.com/2005/05/26/non-profits-are-blogs-better-than-websites/
    Why should you go with a blog rather than a brochure-ware website?

    What is all this blog stuff? And why should I care?http://www.audioactivism.org/images/BrianRuby-RTPnetConf05.pdf
    By Ruby Sinreich and Brian Russell for the RTPNet Conference, 2005.

    This resource originally developed for 2005 NTC conference session Blogs and RSS: Why the heck should you care

    Notes from NTC blog session

    NTC 2005

    Blogs and RSS… what the heck do I care?

    Presenters: Marnie Webb, John Kenyon

    These notes are from the opening of the session in which participants were asked:

    What are you here to find
    out about blogs and RSS?

    Blog characteristics

    RSS/webfeeds

    RSS Alternatives

    I've put together a slide presentation that explains the differences between three types of RSS feed:

    Each of these types of feed have their advantages and disadvantages; the non-profit organization should carefully strategize before selecting the type to use.

    Incidently, many are considering the personalized RSS feed as an alternative to personalized eNewsletters.  Studies are showing that 30-40% of opt-in eNewsletters are not being opened and read.  Spam and over-filled email boxes are to blame.

    On the same site, I provide a working prototype of a simple, personalized feed.  In this demonstration, we collect name and email address and the feed then carries a unique ID that ties back to those identity items.

    Go to:  http://www.boadminsys.com/rss  for the demos.

    Ward Bell

    So, you wanna start a blog?

    Okay. You're a nonprofit decision-maker.You've read the what's-a-blog articles (1,2, 3, 4). You saw the cover of this week's Business Week. And now you've decided to take the plunge. What are your next steps?

    1. Choose your tool.
      Are you wavering in your commitment and love of the form? Not sure if it'll work for your organization? You want this to be in "beta"? Beta like it might not work. Like you might decide not to go forward with it. Then blogger is the tool for you. Even the hosting can be free. And it's stable. Google owns it and they're not going away.

      You feel more sure? You know that you want to do this and you've assigned someone to keep the blog up-to-date but you don't want to invest heavily in a technology infrastructure? Go Typepad. Typepad provides a few more options -- notably trackbacks and categories -- that adds to the managability and conversationality of your blog.

      Feel strongly that you want this on your own servers? You want to be able to build and customize as you see fit? Two good options for you, both open source: WordPress or drupal, specifically the CivicSpace fork. WordPress can give be a good light-weight Content Management System. Drupal/CivicSpace is a big box of legos but gives you a powerful tool for organizing your website. I don't recommend either of these options if you don't have good, confident technology assistance (though, volunteers can be had).

    2. Name your weblog.
      Don't spend too much time on this but do spend some. Give it a name that you like, that fits somehow with your organization. You also have the opportunity to provide a description. Think of this like a title and a subtitle. Don't call it "My Blog" or something else similarly vague. I've named my own blog after my phone extension -- it's mine but still linked to my job. The name you choose for your weblog can help your position in Google (I haven't done a very good job of this). Including a word or phrase that you'd like to own -- something that, when plugged into Google, returns your site -- can be a good idea but don't get too artificial or too long.
    3. Turn on RSS.
      Don't worry about what it stands for. Don't even worry about what it is. Okay, worry a little bit. It stands for Really Simple Syndication. And you will need to use it. But don't worry about what it is technically. When you are setting up your weblog, one of the options will be to set up a web feed. This may also be referred to as a subscription option. Make it available. All you need to do is check the box and -- automagically! -- the weblog software will generate an additional page of code based on your weblog which will allow people to use third party aggregators to subscribe to your site.

      When you do this, you will be presented with some options for your subscription. The wording will vary but typically these options are: headlines, headlines plus a few words, or the full posting. This refers to the content that people will receive in their aggregator. Only want them to know what you titled your post? Choose headline. Want them to get the first little bit of text or a few descriptive sentences that you provide? Choose the second option. Or do you want them to get all of your posted goodness straight into their aggregator? Choose the third.

      I say: pick the third. Yes, I know. The first two force people to click-thru to your site. There, not only will they get your posted words of wisdom, they will also have the chance to prowl around. Heck, they may even decide to give you some money. Except you better be really good at writing those headlines because they may not decide to click. They may not link to you because they don't have enough information. They may even be using RSS to read weblogs while offline. In which case, they need to like what you gave them enough to fire up their computer later, when connected, and go back to your headline, click and see what's on your site.

    4. Permalinks, permalinks, permalinks.
      Permalinks are built into the weblog software that I recommend above. In fact, you'd have to make a bigger effort to turn then off then to use them. Essentially, these provide an individual URL for each post. They keep people from having to say, when forwarding your weblog URL, Okay, go to this page and then scroll down. Under the picture of the yak. It's the third headline. Permalinks give an individual URL to a chunk of your content. Folks can forward this and link to it as they desire.
    5. Make it easy for people to share your content.
      Okay. This is really just reinforcing the last two points. Full-feed RSS and permalinks make it very easy to share your content. People can email it, they can link to it. They can save it. They can even reprint parts of it. None of this is bad. It's allowing the power of the web to work in your favor.
    6. Link.
      Don't be afraid of links. Include them -- link to other organizations, weblogs, news articles -- in your weblog posts. Sure, some people will click on the first one and never come back. For other readers, though, you are providing a valuable service by pointing them to important information in your area of expertise. They may leave, but they'll come back. And they will come back because you will become a source of information for them.

      But linking isn't just about providing a clipping service for your readers. It's also about sharing your wealth -- readers and web real estate -- with others. This sharing can increase their readership and some of those folks will share right back.

    7. Read your referrer logs.
      Website metrics are a tricky business (even more so for weblogs where, I'd argue, some of the traditional notions of stickiness don't apply and where RSS can obscure the number of viewers). I'm not talking about knowing how many people hit your site today, though that can be seductive. I'm talking about knowing who is linking to you. If you can't get at a referrer log easily, add a counter to the bottom of your site.

      I recommend Site Meter and Stat Counter. Both are free. Both can be displayed in various ways and are very easy to insert into a page. And both will provide information on where your web traffic is coming from. Click through. Look at the pages.

    8. Comment on other weblogs.
      You can comment on other weblogs in two ways: on their site and yours. Both have value.

      Comment on their site when you are really just adding a little bit to their post. When you want to say, Hey, I found this interesting and here's a little tidbit that I can add to that. You bring value to their site but you also show them that you are paying attention. And that you are willing to contribute to the web wide conversation -- not just the conversation happening on your own weblog.

      Comment on your site if you have something really substantial to say and you think that it would be of benefit to your audience. If someone else's posts or thoughts are really just a jumping off place for you, make a post to your own site being certain to link to the site provided the catalyst. Not only does this give your readers a fuller sense of where you are coming from, it creates the links necessary for a wider conversation.

    9. Use trackback if your software supports it.
      Trackback provides a mechanism for others to -- automagically! -- alert and update your site when they make a post based on one of yours. This will show up in your referrer logs.
    10. Turn on your own comments..
      Let it be anonymous or not. Moderated or don't. But give people a chance to chime in. Just like your comments add value to their website, their comments add value to yours. And be prepared for people to disagree with you, to ask you for things, to express their opinions. That means you've hit something in them and it's not bad.

      Delete the profane and spam as you will but leave everything else. If someone is harsh or rude, others will recognize it and they will recognize you for allowing conversations to take place rather than just accepting me-too comments.

    11. Archives.
      This implies that you are posting. Obvious? Maybe. But you've got to do it. Don't wait until you've perfected and polished that 1,000 word treatise. Post early and often. A little link will do you. Show up, on your weblog, every day. Ask for thoughts and then respond. Pay attention, both to your corner and the weblog world in general.

      Archives, by month, provide a history. As such, they develop your credibility and show your investment.

    [This was originally published on extension 337]

    Social Bookmarking Tool Comparison

    Introduction

    Purpose
    This article looks at the evolving crop of social bookmarking tools, their functionality and examples of use. The goal is to help nonprofits understand the value of using social bookmarking tools and to determine which social bookmarking tool would best serve their needs. This is directed at nonprofit uses of these tools.

    Version

    The current version of this document is available at:

    http://www.consultantcommons.org/node/239

    Updating

    The landscape of social bookmarking tools is like the wild west. New tools are appearing (and disappearing) rapidly and the features of specific tools is also changing. Thanks to the open nature (in terms of syndication and APIs if not source) of many of these tools, third party add-ons can provide significant additional functionality. All of this means that the material in the article can become quickly out-of-date. For that reason, this has been set up, in CivicSpace parlance, as a book. This means that is editable by anyone who has a ConsultantCommons.org user account

    As new information becomes available, functionality changes, or new tools emerge, please feel free to make updates to this page.

    In addition, as this page is being developed, please feel free to add information either by editing the book itself or by leaving a comment.

    If you participate in the editing of this document, please include your name and any desired contact information in the "Contributors" section below.

    This being developed in response to a suggestion from Beth Kanter

    Contributors

    Definitions

    Social Bookmarking

    Social bookmarking involves saving bookmarks to an online service and "tagging" them with keywords you create instead of saving the bookmarks in your browser's favorite's list. Your collection of bookmarks is viewable to others users who may easily copy bookmarks to their own collection. Social bookmarking enables a you to discover other people who are interested in a topic and know about an excellent web resources that you may not have found by using a search engine. Based on: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_bookmarking] and [http://www.educause.edu/LibraryDetailPage/666?ID=ELI7001]

    Social bookmarking tools often allow you to clip all or part of the page you are bookmarking, extensive commenting, thus offering potentially more annotation and content "meaning making."

     

    Tagging

    Tagging is a term used in a number of contexts for different purposes, mostly referring to adding a tag of some form. Tags can be thought of as keyword that allow ad hoc classification and sorting of a variety of types of information. Tagging can be applied to URLs (in the case of social bookmarking), photos (flickr), ideas/projects (43 things).

    • In many computing and information processing contexts, tagging is the process of labelling a piece of data with metadata.
      • Content on webpages is displayed as HTML which uses the construct of HTML tags
      • In the practice of collaborative categorization using freely chosen keywords known as folksonomy, Tags are descriptors that individuals assign to objects.
      • For instance, in linguistics, a corpus may undergo part-of-speech tagging.
      • It is also often used in relation to audio data compression, in which case it refers to adding
      • In CVS, to tag a project is to associate a name with the current version of every file in project directory. This is done so that one can easily revert to a state where all files are known to compile together.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tagging

    RSS(Really Simple Syndication)

    RSS is an abbreviation for:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS

    API(Application Program Interface)

    An application programming interface (API) is a set of definitions of the ways one piece of computer software communicates with another. It is a method of achieving abstraction

    , usually (but not necessarily) between lower-level and higher-level software.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API

    Overview: Benefits and Drawbacks of Social Bookmarking

    What happens when you add "social" to "bookmarking" or why this is different from adding sites to your browser's favorite list.

    A more condensed version of the examples here:
    http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2005/06/social_bookmark.html

    Social Bookmarking Tools List

    Related Tools

    Categories for comparison

    How they compare[1]

    Backflip has been claimed -- webb

    [Once the above is gathered, put a table in here]

    Uses

    Try to find a few case studies of current use.

    Internal use in an organization

    Community of practice to share resources

    Publishing lists to blog or web site

    Selecting a service

    Since they are all so new this might, at this point, still be a matter of personal preference but it seems like, by the time we get here, we might be able to make some solid recommendations.

    Sources:

     

    Resources

    Tutorials
    [list]

    Useful: A beginner's Guide To Delicious
    http://www.beelerspace.com/index.php?p=890

    Lists of 3rd party tools
    Delicious: Complete Plugin/Tools List

    http://www.quickonlinetips.com/archives/2005/02/absolutely-delicious-complete-tools-collection/

    Other

    Alexandra Samuels Delicious Bookmarks on Social Bookmarking: http://del.icio.us/Kossatsch/socialbookmarks

    Dlibrary: Social Bookmarking Overview
    http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april05/hammond/04hammond.html

     

     

    [1]This might also be made available as a spreadsheet for download. We need a template ...

     

    Using the Bloglines OPML file

    Based on a discussion in the Nonprofit Emerging Technology Exchange group, Sonny Cloward created a Bloglines account to track RSS feeds that might be of interest to nonprofit professionals. This account, nptech's Blogs, is collection of items organized by functional area. There's a section on communications, for example, or management. This set of feeds is being collaboratively managed (a group of people shares the user name and password and so adds feeds to the list).


    So, why should you care about this? How can use it?

    Rather than trying to find blogs and web feeds of interest by going to large, wholesale aggregators such as Technorati or Feedster, you can go to this bloglines account and view specific feeds within topic areas that might be of interest to you. Clicking on the feed name, in the left hand frame, shows the items, newest first, in the right hand frame.


    Nice, eh, but not quite enough.

    You can also export the OPML file -- in this instance a file that essentially names all of the feeds -- and import that file into the feedreader of your choice.

    On the bottom of the left hand frame is a link that reads "Export Subscriptions." Simply right-click that link, choose "Save As" and put the resulting XML file in a place where you'll find it again.


    When you are in the aggregator of your choice, you can import that file and feeds, along with the folder structure, will be pulled into your desktop.


    Why do this and not just use that page to visit the links? Putting the feeds into your own aggregator allows you to keep track of what you've read and what you haven't. It allows gives you control of the subscriptions -- add and delete feeds, change the folder structure so that it is more relevant for you -- in a way that you can't do with the Bloglines account.