Transcript Online Tools for Archvists:

ONLINE TOOLS FOR ARCHIVISTS:
RSS Readers, Pod/Vodcasts, Videosharing, and Widgets
Society of Florida Archivists
May 5, 2010
Ava Iuliano, USF School of Library and Information Science
OVERVIEW
Software
 Process
 Examples
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RSS FEEDS, PODCASTS, AND WIDGETS,
OH, MY!
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Why should archivists care?
Communication
 Promotion
 Connecting with users
 Staying Relevant
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What are they good for?
Time savers!
 Distributing information
 Creating a larger web presence
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RSS FEED READERS
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What are they?
RSS: Really Simple Syndication
 Includes text plus metadata, including dates/authorship
 Allows publishers (YOU!) to distribute content easilypublish once, read many times
 Utilizes XML
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‘Readers’ allow users to subscribe to feeds and read
them as they are distributed in one, easy location
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Can be desktop-, web-, or mobile-device-based
This is the icon most commonly
used to denote RSS feeds are
available
HOW TO USE RSS FEEDS/READERS

Connect with your users!
Distribute news blurbs
 Advertise events and speakers
 Alert patrons/potential sponsors to new items
 Communicate!
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Connect with other institutions!
Find out what other institutions are doing
 Keep abreast of news happenings
 Get a feel for trends
 Become aware of different opportunities

GET STARTED!
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Examples of readers
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Google Reader
NewzCrawler
FeedDemon
Omega
Bloglines
Awasu
SharpReader
NewsGator
Sign up, search for feeds, and subscribe! It’s
THAT easy!
HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN
Many other online tools come equipped with
automatic RSS feeds, including blogs and
Twitter.
 You can also create RSS feeds using software.
For example, feedforall.com has a software
program that will help you generate your own
feeds.
 And…manually. If you are comfortable with
HTML, you can generally pick up enough XML
coding to create your own RSS feeds in a .txt file.
The file is then posted in your website folder on
the server. The information contained in the
code can be broken up into 3 basic parts: Title,
Link and Description.

WHAT IS THAT?!
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" ?>
<rss version="0.91">
<channel>
<title>eXploringXML</title>
<link>http://exploringxml.com</link>
<description>Free tutorials, examples, and tools for XML at
WebReference</description>
<language>us-en</language>
<copyright>Copyright 2000, internet.com.</copyright>
<managingEditor>[email protected]</managingEditor>
<webMaster>[email protected]</webMaster>
<image>
<title>eXploringXML</title>
<url>http://webref.com/xml/art/logo.gif</url>
<link>http://exploringxml.com</link>
<width>88</width>
<height>31</height>
<description>Free tutorials, examples, and tools for XML at
WebReference</description>
</image>
<item>
<title>Editing XML: Addendum</title>
<link>http://www.webref.com/xml/column8/addendumA/</link>
<description>More XML Editors</description>
</item>
<item>
<title>WAP: The Web for Cellphones and PDAs</title>
<link>http://www.webref.com/xml/column12/</link>
<description>The Web on Aethernet</description>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
PODCASTING/VODCASTING
What they are
 How to use them
 How to get started
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WHAT ARE THEY?
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Podcasts are audio files that are created and sent
to a server, which allows it to be converted to
XML format. (ie ‘Published on the web’)
Periodic
 Syndicated
 Digital media files
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While ‘podcast’ is used to describe any syndicated
digital media file, ‘vodcast’ is most commonly
used to describe video files that are syndicated
through the web.
WHY DO WE CARE?
You become portable! Users can download mp3,
.wav, and other files to their mp3 players,
computers and other devices.
 You become more visible! iTunes and other mp3
programs have a high usage rate. By creating a
presence on these applications, you will reach
more users.
 You distribute information in a variety of ways!
You can use appropriate technology to reach out
to your patrons effectively.
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HOW TO GET STARTED
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Open source Software:
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Audacity
Easy Podcast
Feedforall
BlogMatrix Sparks!
Cast Easy (For Mac Users)
Retail software
ePodcast Creator
 ProfCast
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Hardware
Microphone
 Webcam
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THE PROCESS
Set up microphone and open recording software
 Record session
 Edit podcast
 Convert to mp3 or other audio/video file type
 Post on your website!
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VIDEOSHARING OR I’VE GOT MY
VODCAST…NOW WHAT?
YouTube
 Vimeo
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VIDEOSHARING
Websites like Vimeo and YouTube allow users to
publish video files for the whole world to see
 With a video hosting site, you can bypass the
heartache of posting the video on your own
website.
 Added benefits are increased visibility; there are
millions of users on YouTube and Vimeo!
 Uploading is easy! Create an account, click
‘upload’ and follow the instructions!
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WIDGETS
What they are?
 How to use them
 How to get started
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WHAT ARE THEY?
Basically, a portable piece of code that can be
installed by anyone into a webpage without
editing.
 They can be ‘souvenirs’ that your users can
implant in their websites to connect with you
more easily. In essence, users can expand your
online presence by including widgets on their
own web pages, profiles, etc.
 Networking and connecting institutions is also
easy, thanks to widgets!
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HOW TO CREATE WIDGETS
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Online software allows you to create
customizable widgets to include on your site.
WidgetBox
 Konfabulator
 Dashboard (for Mac)
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MORE SCARY CODING!
<div style="text-align:center;" >
<object
codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#v
ersion=9,0,0,0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" align="middle" width="170px"
height="400px" id="InsertWidget_58962e18-4e6c-4a9a-b253-46b97ee91f15"
data="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/flash/wrapper/InsertWidget.swf"
flashvars="r=2&appId=58962e18-4e6c-4a9a-b25346b97ee91f15&wbx_softkey=true&wbx_suppressGW=true" ><param
value="transparent" name="wmode"/><param value="false" name="menu"/><param
value="high" name="quality"/><param
value="http://widgetserver.com/syndication/flash/wrapper/InsertWidget.swf"
name="movie"/><param value="r=2&appId=58962e18-4e6c-4a9a-b25346b97ee91f15&wbx_softkey=true&wbx_suppressGW=true"
name="flashvars"/><span>Get the <a href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/usffootball-news">USF Football News</a> widget and many other <a
href="http://www.widgetbox.com/">great free widgets</a> at <a
href="http://www.widgetbox.com">Widgetbox</a>! Not seeing a widget? (<a
href="http://docs.widgetbox.com/using-widgets/installing-widgets/why-cant-i-see-mywidget/">More info</a>)</span></object><br /><a target="_blank" alt="Get MySpace
apps at Widgetbox!" href="http://www.widgetbox.com/widget/usf-footballnews?wbx.refer=1&wbx.refer.instId=58962e18-4e6c-4a9a-b25346b97ee91f15&wbx.refer.targetRegId=003f13b4-c2a1-4789-a1afe0f308fefab9&wbx.refer.pn=myspace"><img
src="http://cdn.widgetserver.com/syndication/images/gwbtn-html.gif" style="borderstyle: none" /></a></div>
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
RSS: What RSS is, Where to get it, How to make it,
How to Use it.
The Interactive Archivist Blog
Widget Developer Guide
Podcast Software Resources
Creating Vodcasts
Discover more Web 2.0 applications!
Widgets for Libraries
QUESTIONS?
Ava Iuliano
USF School of Library and Information Science
[email protected] or
[email protected]
www.avaiuliano.com
Don’t get hypnotized by technology!