New Media Center

The purpose of this page is to introduce you to the concept of RSS. If you already are a smarty pants and are just looking for the feed links, here are the posts and the comments feeds. Watch the following video and read on if you would like more information on RSS.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, but describing how it works can get very complicated, so I’ll just tell you what it does and how you can use it to save time. It should just be said that it is a really simple idea. RSS is basically a subscription service. You subscribe to a given website, or rather to the website’s feed. So instead of you visiting a given website to see if there is anything new, the website’s feed notifies you. How does it notify you? You need to obtain what is known as a feed aggregator (or reader). I know, that term may be new to you. For example, Google has a website called Reader that is a feed aggregator. It’s just another web page that you visit that aggregates, or collects, all of the new information that is available from those websites that you normally would visit one at a time. You visit one web page to see what the new offerings are for many pages, thereby saving you time. Think of it as though you were subscribing to a newspaper (only you don’t have to pay). You sign up for a subscription to the feed, and you get new news delivered right to your door, or rather your computer screen.

There are several (feed) readers out there in addition to Google Reader. There’s Bloglines, NewsGator, and Yahoo, and many more. You can even download standalone programs that read feeds. They all work in basically the same way. Just like an email program, they will periodically deliver new items from the feeds you are subscribed to. You may want to start out slow and limit how many feeds you subscribe to. Like your email inbox, your reader will start to fill, so be selective about adding subscriptions. That’s another beauty about RSS. You control what you are subscribed to, so it is much easier to get rid of unwanted subscriptions (sometimes it is impossible to get rid of unwanted email).

We also have more information about how to use RSS feeds on our Tips page.

Here are some additional resources for using and finding interesting RSS feeds:

USA.gov

Google Reader for Beginners

YouTube RSS Generator

Educause – 7 Things You Should Know About RSS

Educational Feeds Directory

Convert an RSS feed to a PDF

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Myth #1 – You need an iPod to podcast

In theory you don’t really need to even own an MP3 player, let alone an iPod. Podcasting gets it’s name from the iPod (Start with the word Broadcasting, take out Broad and substitute Pod). It’s the idea that you are broadcasting to an iPod, but you are actually broadcasting to any MP3 player or even just a person’s computer through the web. It is also not LIVE broadcasting, it’s more like a magazine subscription.

Myth #2 – You need an iPod to listen to podcasts

As we said in Myth #1, you can listen to podcasts on any MP3 player, UNLESS, the podcast is ONLY available in AAC format from iTunes. Even then there are some portable players that support some AAC files (Microsoft’s Zune, Sony’s PSP, and the SanDisk Sansa).

Myth #3 – When I make my recording and save it as an MP3 file, that’s a podcast, right?

Well technically, no. Though many people say that they are recording a podcast, the podcast is actually the recording plus the backend mechanism that syndicates the recording. The ability to subscribe (using RSS) to this special type of broadcast is the reason we call them podcasts.

Myth #4 – Podcasting is complicated

It certainly CAN be, and to get very high quality and high production value podcasts takes lots of know-how. However, there are many ways to make it a very easy and enjoyable process (the satisfaction of broadcasting your production is VERY rewarding).

What you (and your subscribers) need:

• A web-hosting site (do a Google search for web hosting), or a specialized site such as Podbean.com (which hosts podcasts). Hey, if you are a UMW student or faculty member, how about UMW Blogs?
• iTunes – or other “podcatcher” – Here are instructions and a screencast on how to subscribe to a podcast using iTunes.
• iPod or other MP3 player, or a web page
• Microphone/Recording device*
• Recording software* (like Audacity)

*Notes: A USB Headset microphone we recommend – Logitech USB 350. If you’re using a Mac, GarageBand is a great program for creating a very professional sounding podcast. For recording hardware we have used and recommend the Marantz PMD660 or similar, and the Edirol R-09 or similar. You can even record using an iPhone!

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