Last week, we looked at blogs. Maybe you found some blogs that you'd like to read on a regular basis. But the problem is, how do you know when that blog has been updated? Do you have to go to all your favorite blogs every day to see if there is a new post?
Enter RSS. It technically stands for Really Simple Syndication, but some people find it easier to think of it as Really Simple Subscription. Sometimes known as an RSS Feed, RSS is a way for you to subscribe to your favorite blogs, and be notified when they are updated. Rather than notifying you by e-mail, instead you log in to something called an RSS Reader or Feed Reader. An RSS Reader will check all your blogs and let you know how many new posts are available since you last checked. You can then read them right there in the RSS Reader, or go to the blogs. Examples of RSS Readers include Bloglines, My Yahoo, and Google Reader.
To view a simple explanation of RSS, view the video RSS in Plain English:
The great thing is, RSS doesn't just apply to blogs. Many websites allow you to subscribe to their RSS feed, to be notified when the webpage is updated. Online calendars will also let you subscribe, to be notified when a new event is added to the calendar.
Wondering if a site has an RSS feed? You can usually tell by looking toward the bottom of the page (or along a sidebar) for an icon like this or like this.
And here at LGPL, Noel Zethmayr's blog, Teenscape LaGrange, has an RSS feed: http://www.lagrangeblogs.com/teenscape/. With our recent upgrade of our eVanced Calendar software, patrons can even subscribe to an RSS feed of our events and programs (http://events.lagrangelibrary.org/evanced/lib/eventcalendar.asp). This Week's TechPlay Exercise: Today we'll create a Google Reader account (using the Google Account you set up last week). We'll add some RSS feeds for some blogs to your account.
Login using the e-mail address and password you set up last week.
Using the "Add subscription" link about halfway down on the lefthand side, we will add the RSS Feed for this TechPlay blog. Click on "Add subscription."
Go back to this window and click on the Posts link on the top left (you may have to scroll up). Choose "Add to Google." On the next screen, choose "Add to Google Reader."
Great! You did it! Now we'll add some additional blogs to your account. There are two ways to do this:
Using the "Add subscription" link, type in some keywords to find some blogs. Choices will appear on the right. Choose one and click on "subscribe." OR
If you know of a specific blog you want to subscribe to, open the blog in another window. Find the RSS link to subscribe. When you click on the RSS link, it will open a new page. Copy the URL from the top of your browser, then go back to Google Reader and paste it in the "Add subscription" box.
As a final step, post a message to your own blog (that you created last week) talking about your experiences. Was this easy, or hard?
If you're having trouble, you might want to watch the video above again. And don't forget to ask for help from your TechPlay Team: Brooke, Nancy K, Debbie, Noel, Bridget, and Jeannie.
A blog, short for weblog, is simply a way to post your thoughts, writings, interests, and rants for all the world to see. And read. You can link to other sites on your blog, and add pictures, too. The first part of this lesson will give you a glimpse of what other people have done with their blogs, especially with regard to libraries and books. In the second part of the lesson, you'll set up a Google account, which will allow you to do the third part of the lesson -- create your own blog.
This Week's TechPlay Exercise:
Step 1. Open your browser (the library uses either Firefox or Internet Explorer), and in the address bar, type ricklibrarian.blogspot.com. This is the blog maintained by Rick Roche, the Head of Reference Services at Thomas Ford Memorial Library. As you can see, he has information about himself, including photos. Along the right side of the screen, you can click on "Library news and reviews" to find out more about a variety of subjects, as well as links to other blogs. You can also see his blog entries archived by date. Take a look at some entries, and feel free to post a comment.
Step 2. Now go to bookbitch.com. This site, also devoted to books, is maintained by a circulation clerk at a public library in southern Florida. Click around on the different tabs (at the top of the webpage), such as "win books" and "virgins" (which highlights new authors). As you can see, this site is a rich source of book reviews.
Step 3. Now that you've seen some examples of blogs, it's time to create your own! Start by going to blogger.com. (Google.com owns Blogger.com, so this will be your Google account.) In the upper right-hand corner of the screen, click on the "sign in" button. On the next screen, the lower blue box on the right-hand side says "Don't have a Google Account? Create an account now." Click on this blue box. This takes you to a new page, where you'll set up your account. Fill out each of the boxes: A. In the first box, enter your library email address (e.g. zethmayrn@lagrangelibrary.org). B. In the second, re-type your address. C. In the third box, choose a password (this should be a combination of letters and numbers that YOU will remember), and type it in. D. in the fourth box, type the password again. E. In the fifth box, choose a display name. This is your signature for your blog posts.Type it in. F. In the seventh box, type in the twisty letters you see. This is called "word verification," and it cuts down on spamming by insuring that you are a living human being, not a web-bot. If the letters are too weird and you make a mistake, another twisty word will be shown. Try that one. G. Click to agree to the terms of use, then click "continue." Step 4. Go back to blogger.com. The computer should now recognize you, and you should see your email address in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. If not, in the upper right corner, enter your username (which is your email address) and password. Click "sign in."
Step 5. Name your blog. First you'll be asked to provide a blog title. This is the name of your blog. Next, choose a blog address, and type it in. (You'll probably have to try a couple of addresses before you find a free one.) This is the address people will use to find your blog.
Step 6. Choose a template. Using the scrollwheel on your mouse, or by clicking and dragging the scrollbar on the right side of the screen, scroll down the list of templates and choose your favorite. If you don't like it, you can always change it later. You can see what the template will look like fullscreen by clicking on "preview template." Click in the circle below the template to choose it. Click "continue."
Step 8. Start blogging! Type in a title for your first blog post (like "Books I'm reading now"), then move to the large text box and type your first post. Click on "publish post" at the bottom of the screen to make your posts "go live" on the web.
Step 9. Click on "view blog" at the top of the screen. Now you can see your blog! Congratulations! You will be posting to this blog throughout the course. It is intended to be a place for you to comment on the coursework (courseplay?), as well as a place to share your thoughts in general. Please e-mail the URL (website address) of your blog (it will look like this: http://[your blog name here].blogspot.com/) to us at techplay@lagrangelibrary.org. (We will not share the address with anyone.)
FYI -- What you've just done has scratched the surface of your blog's possibilities. You can do much more with your blog, especially as you learn new tools during this course.
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