Program Assessment User Session Experts (PAUSE) Information Sessions: RSS & Subscription Services October , 2006

2 Agenda Question and Answer Session Review of information and procedures, as needed Potential discussion topics –Downloading RSS reader –Installing RSS reader –Subscribing to RSS channels –Accessing Subscription Service –Subscribing to Subscription Service

3 Feedback and Questions How are things going with RSS and the Subscription Services? How many people are now using RSS and the Subscription Services? Questions or comments?

4 Testing Schedule Overview 10/11 Participation instructions ed to Participants 10/17-18Optional RSS / ESS Information Sessions 10/27Midpoint on-line survey ed to Participants 11/8Final on-line survey ed to Participants 11/14On-line journals and final on-line surveys due

5 Review of Week 2 Information Review of Information on RSS and Subscription Services (as needed)

6 Agenda Agenda and Introductions Background Questionnaire Review RSS and Subscription Services Subscribing to RSS Feeds (a live demo / discussion) Subscribing to Service (a live demo / discussion) Subscription Services Testing and Wrap-up

7 Purpose of Session Proposing to add 2 new capabilities to our websites: –RSS – Subscription Service Demonstrate prototype capabilities Ask you to help test the prototypes –give feedback so we can make enhancements

8 Subscription Services – Covered Topics Need for Subscription Services Overview of RSS – RSS and Knowledge Resources –What is RSS?, Benefits / Limitations, and How RSS works Demo of RSS What is the Subscription Service? –What is it?, Benefits / Limitations, and How the Subscription Service works Subscribing to RSS Feeds(a live demo / discussion) Subscribing to Service (a live demo / discussion) Introduce concept of PAUSE testing the Subscription Services Ask for participation in testing Survey

9 Background on Need for Subscription Services Diversity and breadth of knowledge Applications Overview – 16 categories >> 176 specific applications (see Lessons Learned – 9 Lesson Categories >> 45 categories (see States – see information by the 50 states (see ome) ome

10 Background on Need for Subscription Services Applications Overview – 16 categories >> 176 specific applications (see

11 Background on Need for Subscription Services Lessons Learned – 9 Lesson Categories >> 45 sub-categories (see

12 An Overview of RSS – RSS and Knowledge Resources RSS allows you to receive selected "news items", such as: –"What's new" in Knowledge Resources (e.g., Costs, Benefits and Lessons Learned KRs) –ITS-related news items from Bernie Wagenblast's Transportation Communication Newsletter –Application Area news items (e.g., Arterial Management > Traffic Control) –Lesson Category news items (e.g., Design and Deployment > System Design)

13 An Overview of RSS – What is RSS? RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” (but can also stand for “Rich Site Summary”, or “RDF Site Summary”) Works as an automated way to see "What's New" on a Web site –Requires a sender (manual or automated) and a subscriber Also used as a method for distributing headline content and data between sites Commonly used for news items and web log (“Blog”)

14 An Overview of RSS – Benefits and Limitations of RSS Benefits –Users can create customized news feeds that show only topics of individual interest –When this is performed for many sites, a customized view of information from many sources is aggregated in one place –This can save time over accessing many sites daily in order to discover new items

15 An Overview of RSS – Benefits and Limitations of RSS Limitations –82% in a recent survey did not know what RSS was* –Requires work to set up the RSS reader –Requires work to identify sites to get news items from * – Lee Gomes of Wall Street Journal

16 An Overview of RSS – How RSS Works Originating site creates an RSS “feed” or “channel,” which is an XML file accessed by a standard URL. –An RSS file consists of a list of items, each of which contains a title, description and a link to a web page –Date information Users instruct their RSS tool to “subscribe” to the feed. –Tool automatically accesses and downloads new file(s) for each subscription and parses them to show summary and headline information in a convenient, easily viewed format. –User can then access more detail by navigating to content source from the RSS tool

17 New Washington Post Technology Channel Story RSS – Washington Post Technology source Channel = WashingtonPost.com – Technology

18 RSS – Transportation Communications Newsletter source Channel = Intelligent Infrastructure – Arterial Management Systems – Traffic Control New TCN news story for Traffic Control application area channel

19 RSS – Lessons Learned Knowledge Resource source Channel = Intelligent Infrastructure – Arterial Management Systems – Traffic Control New Lessons Learned entry for Traffic Control application area channel

20 Summary of Differences between RSS and Applications Overview Only new items Tailored to your interests regarding the types of ITS information you receive Links to some stories may expire over time Accessed through an RSS reader and browser Applications Overview RSS Archival Searchable, for all information, not just new information Accessed via browser

21 RSS – Experiences Using It? Has anyone used RSS? Anyone want to share their experiences (good or bad)?

22 An Overview of the Subscription Service – What is it? Subscription Service is a method to distribute targeted and timely information to a subscriber using ordinary –Subscriber selects subject and frequency of receipt Uses any account –No need to install specialized software –No need to establish new account

23 An Overview of Subscription Service – How does it work? Subscriber accesses webpage that describes the process for signing up to receive –User provides address and selects topic or topics of interest –User specifies frequency of receipt (e.g., daily, weekly, monthly.) s sent to address provided by user according to user specified schedule –User may modify or cancel receipt at any time

24 An Overview of Subscription Service – Benefits and Limitations Benefits –Subscribers automatically receive information via –Information may be compiled from several sources and consolidated into a single –This can save time over accessing many sites daily in order to discover new items Limitations – could be considered spam –User can be overwhelmed by amount of received (independent of this service) and the s from this service could get lost in in-box

25 Summary of Differences between RSS and the Subscription Service Delivered through system and items clickable through a browser Duplicate news items are filtered out Subscription Service RSS Accessed through an RSS reader and items clickable through a browser Duplicate news items may occur Only new items Tailored to your interests regarding the types of ITS information you receive Links to some stories may expire over time

26 Subscribing to RSS Feeds & Subscription Service Subscribing to RSS Feeds (a live demo / discussion) Subscribing to Subscription Service (a live demo / discussion)

27 Purpose: Gather feedback to allow enhancements to the RSS and subscription service prototypes, to better suit your needs. Participants can subscribe to either the RSS or Subscription Service, or both. Participants will be given an overview and instructions on RSS and/or Subscription Service to help them set up RSS or the Subscription Service and participate in the testing. PAUSE Testing of Subscription Services

28 PAUSE Testing of Subscription Services – Process Steps involved in helping to test the RSS and subscription services: 1.Indicate your interest in participating in testing the RSS or the subscription service, or both. 2.Receive from Volpe on participation details 3.Install RSS reader software / subscribe to channels, and/or subscribe to service. 4.Use RSS and/or subscription service. 5.Record comments on your usage in electronic journal. 6.Complete two on-line surveys. 7.Receive our thanks for participating, and a summary presentation on RSS and subscription service.