RSS for Content Aggregation using Google Reader

Sabitri Majhi
Lecturer P. G. Dept. of Lib. & Info. Science Sambalpur University, Odisha Tel: 0663-2432104 sabitriindia@gmail.com

BuluMaharana
Sr. Lecturer P. G. Dept. of Lib. & Info. Science Sambalpur University, Odisha Tel: 0663-2432073 bulumaharana@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
RSS technology is one of the many applications of Web2.0 environment. The number of library-related RSS applications is increasing daily. In order to use a feed, the user may install a software tool commonly known as a feed reader on their computer or otherwise the user may directly work online with the use of online services like Bloglines, Google Reader etc. The general internet users as well as the librarians have been well adapting to the emerging RSS technologies to aggregate, share and deliver the information. The paper defines RSS services, specifically online services like Bloglines, Google Reader etc. and presents the Complete practical application with Google Reader

Keywords
RSS, XML, Content aggregation, Bloglines, Google Reader, Feed Show

INTRODUCTION Evolution of RSS is one of the major achievements in Web2.0 environment. Consequent upon the emergence of electronic media, the velocity of generation of information has been increased to such an extent that it is quite difficult and time consuming to visit the individual websites, news sources and blogs to retrieve daily updates. As opposed to this, RSS technology as a potential solution constantly aggregates the updates of individual sites of users interest and displays these updates in one convenient location. Further, RSS is a great tool for information retrieval as it involves organization of information and provision of single point access to distributed information including articles, blog posts, PDF or .ppt documents, photos, audio or video files. . DEFINITION AND CONCEPT OF RSS RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a technology which has brought about a significant advance in the fundamental architecture of the web (O'Reilly, 2005). RSS is an XML format which allows users to know about the content of RSS-enabled websites, blogs, or podcasts without necessarily visiting its actual site. The information from the site is collected within a feed (which has RSS format) and piped to the user in a process known as syndication (Anderson, 2007). According to DSouza, the simplest definition of RSS is an eXtensible Markup Language (XML) format that uses the Resource Description Framework (RDF) for representing information about resources on the World Wide Web . In order to use
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a feed, the user may install a software tool commonly known as a feed reader on their computer or the user may directly work online with the use of online services like Bloglines, Google Reader etc. An RSS feed can be identified by this universal symbol. When this symbol is seen on the web site, it confirms that the site is RSS enabled. Clicking on this symbol will usually direct the user to that site's feed. From there, the user can copy and paste the link on feed Reader to subscribe the feed in Reader. The feed reader used by the user enables him to organize the feeds and access related Web pages when these are available. Syndication via RSS feeds is not an independent social computing tool like other social computing tools such as Blogs, Wiki, Podcasts etc. It is a key technological application that facilitates accessing and inter-connecting different online sources KEY FEATURES OF RSS FEEDS RSS feed is having the most advanced practice in which people store their news feeds online, thereby making interested sites news feeds available in a single interface. The key features of RSS feeds can be summarized are as follows: It is an intermediary tool which supports other Web 2.0 tools like blog and wiki, or any website. RSS feed can be used from other blogs to alert them about the latest information in their field of interest on a regular basis. Technically, RSS is an XML-based data format for websites to exchange files that contain publishing information and summaries of the sites contents. RSS is a better solution than an email list subscription, as it does not require users to give out their email addresses, avoiding the potential for spammers to obtain their email details (Duffy &Bruns, 2006). Libraries use RSS feeds for users to subscribe new items in a collection, new services, and new content in subscription databases. They also use RSS for republishing content on their own websites. A range of free and commercial RSS readers are available having the above common features. Some of the Web based RSS are Bloglines, Google Reader, NetVibes,NewsGator, FeedShow, Rojo and My Yahoo. On the other hand AmphetaDesk, FeedDemon etc. have to download to ones local computer. This article explains online services like Bloglines, Feed Show, Google Reader etc. and presents the complete practical application with Google Reader. POPULAR WEB SERVICES FOR MANAGING RSS FEEDS Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com/) Bloglines is one of the most popular feed-reading services used in the world with over 2 million users (bloglines.com). In order to use Bloglines, downloading and installation of software is not essential and its freely available on the web. Only the users have to register online to be able to customize and arrange feeds in different ways according to the need. It aims to provide best service for users by creating an opportunity where users can subscribe, manage and share feeds across the web. Although its an older and popular service, it lacks some of the important features available elsewhere. There is no option to
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search for a feed via Blogline. The user must know the address or URL of the site what he or she wants to subscribe, which makes it difficult to discover new content. Feed Show (http://reader.feedshow.com/) FeedShow is a free online RSS feed reader. It is a fast and easy to use RSS feed reader which provides attractive features that will enable the user to browse news feeds in a very efficient manner. A valid email address is required to complete the registration process. Once registered the user can customize the news feeds he/she want to read and keep track of the messages already read by the user. It is also the first aggregator that shares revenues with publishers. This is having the facility of Import/Export feed lists Folder categories Save items locally Convert to PDF format, print format Google Reader (http://reader.google.com) Google reader is a product or service of Google which is a web application that collects, organizes and displays content from multiple websites via Really Simple Syndication (RSS) technology. Google Reader has the benefit of integration with the rest of the services of Google like calendar, documents etc. Adding subscriptions to Google Reader can be performed by either direct entry of the feed URL, or by keywordsearching. Practical Application with Google Reader Practical applications with other online RSS reader are almost similar to this tool. In order to use Google reader software installation is not essential. The user only has to create an online account with Google reader. Again if the user is having his/her account in Google then he/she can use Google reader without creating a new account. The most interesting feature of Google reader is that Feeds are recommended based on the feeds already subscribed by the user, as well as information from the users web history. In these cases, personal information is protected by the Google privacy policy. Start-Up Google Reader Google reader is fairly easy to use. There are only two steps to getting started with it. First an account as to be created with it by visiting the site http://reader.google.com. If the user already possesses a Google account simply he/she have to sign in. If not, the user have to click on sign up and here only the user has to fill out his location, email address and password etc. Then Click the create my account button. The next step will give the opportunity of subscribing, Organizing and exploring the RSS feeds. Here in this example the user is named as sabitri(figure-1)

Figure-1: Screen shot of Google Reader registration

Subscribe to a feed By subscribing to a site's feed in Reader, the user will automatically be notified when that website contains new posts or entries. Instead of checking sites repeatedly for updates, RSS feeds bring the favorite websites to the user. Adding subscriptions to Google Reader can be performed by either direct entry of the feed URL, or by keyword searching. If the URL of the required site is known to user then he/she can subscribe by adopting the following steps. Click the Subscribe button in left-hand sidebar. Enter the URL of the site interested to subscribe. Click the Add button appearing right to the pasted URL. Similarly the user can put the key word in place of URL and can subscribe the feeds.

Figure-2: Google Reader showing feed subscriptions Reading feeds Once the user have subscribed to a feed, He/she will see the number of new or unread items in parentheses next to the feed's title. Clicking on the feed's title will display the contents of the feed in the window. At the top of the page, user can choose to view all items or just new items. After subscribing to the interested news category, the RSS reader will automatically poll for new items from the news server. Once new items are available, users will be notified. This content push technology eliminates the effort of regular visits to the individual sites and hence saves the time of user. (http://reader.google.com/) Explore In the left-hand Explore section, the user will find recommended items and recommended sources. Google reader uses algorithms to find fresh and rising images, videos and pages from anywhere on the internet. Then rank them in the order that users like. In order to generate this personalized ranking, it takes into account the past reading behavior of user. This process is completely automated and anonymous; users personal information will be protected in accordance with Googlesprivacy policy. (http://reader.google.com/)

Figure-3: Google Reader Recommendations under Explore Organization of Feeds The feed subscriptions can be organized by creating separate folders. To create a new folder, (1) click on Feed Settings, (2)Choose New Folder from the drop down menu, (3) In the textbox, give the folder a name. The RSS feed will now appear in that folder . To add other RSS feeds into that folder,click on Feed Settings and choose the folder from the drop down menu. (http://reader.google.com/) Sharing Feeds Along with the above mentioned functionalities, Google Reader provides the opportunity of managing the feeds according to the users choice and sharing the interesting items with the fellow user. To publicly share your RSS feed items, click on the Share icon under the post in the feed. Under Settings (top right hand side of site) click Reader settings, Click on the Folders and Tags tab, Click on the View Public Page link. You will now have a webpage with all your shared posts listed (with most recent posted at the top). (http://reader.google.com/) RSS IN LIBRARY APPLICATIONS RSS is a convenient way to deliver up-to-date content to the library users. Users dont have to click through the various sections of the librarys web site to get the new contents. The RSS enabled library sites push the contents directly to the users computer. RSS has been adopted by many libraries like Library of Congress, National Library of Australia, Central Library at INFLIBNET. etc. Library professionals can subscribe to RSS feeds of interest to library customers and can share the content on the
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customers personalized library webpage. Along with this RSS can be applied to some of the following Library and Information Services: Selective Dissemination of Information Current Awareness Service Table of Content Service Bibliographic Service Marketing Library & Information Services Notifications for overdue materials new additions to the online catalog. RSS feed for library job openings. CONCLUSION Modern approaches to organizing and retrieving information onlinecreate opportunities for numerous applications beyond the traditional information retrieval system. By making the information retrieval interlink, rather than being standalone, the value can be added to the experience of internet surfers in general and librarians in particular. By aggregating the feeds using any of these tools, like Google reader, Blogline, FeedShow etc. the possibilities are literally endless. It is obvious that the syndication technique will replace browsing through library websites for content. RSS aggregator applications will enable users to have a single, customized, personal library page that syndicates all the library content of interest to them. REFERENCES Anderson, P. 2007. What is web 2.0? Ideas, technologies and implications for education. JISC technology and standards watch. [Online] http://www.scribd.com/doc/300024/What-is-web2.0ideastechnologies&implications-paul-anderson [Retrieved on 05/05/09] Chris T and Patrick N. 2007. Precisiated information retrieval for RSS feeds", Information Management & Computer Security, Vol. 15 Iss: 3 pp. 184 200 [3]Duffy, P and Bruns, A. (2006) The Use of Blogs, Wikis and RSS in Education: A Conversation of Possibilities. In Proceedings Online Learning and Teaching Conference , pages pp. 31-38, Brisbane [4] Judith W. (2004). "RSS: the latest feed", Library Hi Tech, Vol. 22 Iss: 4 pp. 404 413 Kmiec, M.2010. "Online services for managing information feeds", Library Hi Tech News, Vol. 27 Iss: 8pp. 10 11 http://support.google.com/reader/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=113517 http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?issn=07378831&volume=28&issue=2&articleid=1864745&show=html (only abstract available) http://www.inflibnet.ac.in/caliber2009/CaliberPDF/42.pdf http://reader.feedshow.com/ http://www.bloglines.com/
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http://reader.google.com/ http://moxielibrarian.wordpress.com/2008/02/27/10-ways-libraries-can-use-rss/ http://www.informationweek.com/551/51mtinf.htm

Author/s Brief Biography

Ms. SabitriMajhi has obtained her Master in Library & Information Science from Utkal University and M.Phil from Sambalpur University. She is persuing her doctoral research in Sambalpur University. She has published 13 research papers and scholarly articles in various national and International journals, Conference Proceedings, book chapters, etc. Currently Ms. Majhi, is working as a Lecturer in the Post Graduate Department of Library & Information Science, Sambalpur University, Odisha. She is teaching ICT application to libraries, Search Strategy, Internet and Web resources, E-Learning, etc.

Dr. BuluMaharana, has been working as Senior Assistant Professor and Coordinator in the Post Graduate Department of Library & Information Science, Sambalpur University, Orissa since 2001. Dr. Maharana is a Post Graduate in Economics as well as in Library & Information Science from Sambalpur University. He has also obtained his M.Phil and Ph.D Degrees in Library & Information Science from the same University. He has published more than 50 research papers and scholarly articles, which are published in various International and national journals, Conference Proceedings, book chapters, etc. Dr. Maharana has supervised 18 M.Phil Theses and 26 Master level dissertations successfully. He is the founder Coordinator to start PGDLAN course at Sambalpur University.