RSS -- Really Simple Syndication

RSS is a free web tool available on some websites. RSS acts like a mailer that forwards new or updated website content. This content is often limited to specific story areas. This forwarded material is called a "feed". There are many articles online regarding RSS. Here's one by PCmagazine, RSS: The Web at Your Fingertips, September 28 2005.

Here's a YouTube clip on RSS. Enjoy!

A RSS reader is needed to receive these feeds. Bloglines is a free RSS reader that allows you to select the feeds you want to receive; it collects those feeds, and then displays them to you on your own bloglines website.

Here's a YouTube clip on Blogging. Have Fun!



I like that RSS and Bloglines let you stay abreast of many websites without visiting each site individually. For a quick overview, I can run through the headlines, or for more depth, I can read entire articles. I sometimes want to experience the feel, and the added features, of the source website; so I was happy to see that I can click an article title and reach the site from where the story was sent.

I am looking forward to adding podcasts to my feeds.

It would not be surprising to find that patrons would enjoy daily feeds on new materials in their areas of interest.

On a Cloudy Day

You might have seen this odd list of words on Flickr.

This list is called a Tag Cloud, a Tag Crowd, or a Data Cloud. Items are in A-Z alphabetical order, and font size shows popularity. You can see Flickr's most current list at Explore/Tags.

You can also create your own Tag Clouds by using free tools available on the Internet. Some of these are listed in Tag Cloud Tools and Articles, Wikipedia 2008.

I used a tool called Tag Crowd, to create Tag Clouds of the speeches that Hillary Clinton, John McCain, and Barack Obama gave on 03 June 2008, when Obama became the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

I set the parameters of Tag Crowd to a max of 25 words, each appearing a mininum of 5x. There are more options. You can see them at Tag Crowd. Enjoy the results!

H i l l a r y   C l i n t o n

J o h n   M c C a i n

B a r a c k   O b a m a