Last weekend Richard and Margaret Alcorn from Eremaea Birds
(http://www.eremaea.com) updated the Birdline web sites to support RSS
feeds. Thanks Richard and Margaret!
What are RSS feeds? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is a way to
be notified when web sites have new content. This is particularly useful for
news-based web sites where content changes frequently. There are programs
called RSS readers, or sometimes called news readers, that allow you to
display the content of the RSS feed on a computer. Typically most modern
email programs such as Microsoft Outlook also include RSS readers, as does
Internet Explorer. There are RSS "widgets" that can be installed on computer
desktops that can display contents of RSS feeds. Also social networking
applications such as Facebook also allow you to include RSS readers on your
profile. Phones such as the iPhone, Blackberry, Windows-based PDA phones and
even modern Nokia (and presumably other brand) phones also include RSS
readers.
Why do we need this technology? When you visit the Birdline web site you are
initiating the activity - which means that you need to remember to do it
periodically if you are interested in keeping up to date. With RSS readers,
the reader software interacts with the RSS feed to automatically fetch and
display the latest information. This means that you can either have an RSS
reader running permanently (like the desktop widget I mentioned earlier), or
your mail program can check the RSS feed in the same way that it checks for
mail. The idea is that you never miss out on breaking news.
How does RSS work? If you take a look at the Birdline web sites (for
example, http://www.eremaea.com/BirdlineRecentSightings.aspx?Birdline=1) you
will see an "RSS" button above and to the right of the first sighting. If
you are using Internet Explorer, when you click on the RSS button you will
be taken to a page that asks if you want to subscribe to this feed.
Alternatively, you can copy the contents of the RSS feed address (for
example, http://www.eremaea.com/RSSFeed/Birdline2.xml) and then insert this
value into your RSS reader. For Microsoft Outlook, there is an entry in the
folders list called RSS Feeds - simply right-click this to add the feed, and
you'll be updated with the latest sightings!
If anyone is a Facebook user, you can see this in operation in my Facebook
profile. You can find me at http://www.facebook.com/paulgdodd - Because I
have quite high privacy settings, you will have to request to be my "friend"
to see the feed in action - but if you do request, I will accept! Once in my
Profile click on my Boxes tab and you will see the Birdline Victoria feed.
If you're not a Facebook user, you will need to experiment with other RSS
readers.
If you want more information on RSS, Tim Dolby has indicated that Victoria
University have an informative web site to assist:
http://w2.vu.edu.au/library/rss/default.htm
Paul Dodd
Docklands, Victoria
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birding-aus.blogspot.com
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