Really Simple Syndication Can Really Save Your Sanity! Lauren McSwain-Starrett, ITC Customer Communications Office Technology Conference 2009

RSS Overview  What is RSS?  How does it benefit me?  Is it a lot of trouble to set up?  What subscription method is best for me?  Which RSS feeds might make my life easier?

What Stuff Do You View Online?  Recipes  Movie screenings  Movie reviews  TV listings  Travel deals  Traffic reports  News headlines  Blog entries  Sports scores  Stock quotes  Weather forecasts  Podcasts “There’s an RSS feed for that!”

So, What Exactly Is RSS? vs.

So, What Exactly Is RSS?  When new material is posted at websites of interest to you…  …RSS delivers the update to you automatically…  …without you needing to remember to check manually for updates.  Just read at your own convenience!

How Does RSS Really Benefit Me? You stay in the know and enjoy greater…  Timeliness  Convenience  Portability  Privacy

But Isn’t It a Lot of Trouble to Set Up?  Nope. RSS can be set up in just seconds.  And you can customize your subscription to the format to works best for you.

How Do I Choose What’s Best for Me? Mobile Device Web Browser Website

To Read New Posts In Your …  Copy & paste the URL into your settings  Follow RSS subscription instructions provided in your program’s Help

To Read New Posts on Your Mobile Device…  Use an app to collect RSS feeds and format them for easy reading on a tiny screen  Investigate the many free, downloadable apps for your device ITC Alerts ITC Emergency Downtime: Affects UVaCollab, Main UVa Web Cluster, Home Directory Service, Library Storage ITC Service Notice: ITC to Discontinue Delivery of to unix.mail.virginia.edu Accounts ITC Service Notice: Walk-In Support Hours Changing

To Read New Posts In Your Web Browser…  Click on an RSS link or copy & paste the URL for an RSS feed into your browser’s Web address field 1. Bookmarks Toolbar 2. Bookmarks Menu

To Read New Posts on a Website…  Set up your own personalized home page, tailored exactly to your interests, using an RSS aggregator website Employer NewsUVa/Cville News Industry News Personal Interests

Setting Up Your PageFlakes 1. Click “Menu” in top right 2. Browse the Flakes you’d like to add  Select from preset RSS Flakes: News, blogs  Add your customized RSS flakes:  Click link on left, copy & paste in RSS feed URL  Add non-RSS flakes:  , Facebook, Wikipedia, Google, calculator, world clock, to-do list, etc. 3. Click & drag to arrange your Flakes! 4. Make a login to access from any computer.

Some RSS Feeds You May Want…  ITC Alerts & Downtimes   ITC Front Page News & Announcements   UVa Alerts emergency notifications   UVA Today   UVa 

Really Simple Summary RSS Provides:Subscribe Via:  Timeliness  Convenience  Portability  Privacy “There’s an RSS feed for that!”   Mobile device  Web browser  Website