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Not getting enough news, or at least not getting the news you want when you want it? New technologies like RSS and podcasting allow you to not only tap into the nearly endless streams of information on the web, but also to have it brought to you however you choose. Both of these technologies are relatively new, but they are maturing fast and will help you to be significantly more productive, if you adopt them.

The advantage of technologies like RSS and podcasting is that you do not have to go to multiple sites chasing the content you want; It comes to you. I will start by introducing RSS and podcasting and then demonstrate how to use iGoogle to actively use RSS feeds. As a corollary to this article, next month we will cover how to use these techniques to better reach your constituents.

RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Web developers use RSS to share their updated content without requiring users to return to their site. RSS creates a concise summary for readers to quickly decide whether to keep reading or not. This works much like standard news sites, but now you have more control over the content you receive and the ability to get many sources of content on the same screen.

The application for viewing and collecting RSS feeds is often called an aggregator or news reader. There are RSS applications that can run on the web and also those that you need to install on your local computer. Many email applications (e.g. Microsoft Outlook 2007) and Internet browsers (e.g FireFox) are adding RSS compatibility to their applications. News on Feeds offers a very extensive list of RSS readers that run online and Agg Compare offers a list of desktop based readers. Later in the article, I will show you how to use iGoogle (my preferred RSS aggregator).

Finding RSS content on the Internet is becoming easier as browsers like Internet Explorer and FireFox do more to integrate the protocol and as RSS becomes more pervasive. Many sites will have an orange RSS button indicating that they have available RSS feeds. The official symbol for RSS looks like this.

There are also many directories online that offer lists of available RSS feeds:

• RSS Feeds Directory
• RSSFeeds.com - This site is in Beta form, but it looks very good.
• Yahoo Feeds

RSS feed are becoming as popular as email updates and other forms of information broadcasting. This is true in the private sector as well as in the nonprofit sector. Teaming For Technology offers an RSS feed (http://www.t4tcolorado.org/rss.xml) of updated content from their website. Other nonprofit related RSS feeds include the following:

• Tech Soup
• The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• On Philanthropy

Most major news outfits like the Denver Post, The New York Times, Time Magazine and The Onion have at least one RSS feed.

Podcasts

Podcasting refers to audio and now sometimes video broadcasts made over the Internet and designed to provide downloadable content on demand. Creating a podcast is not horribly expensive, so, as with blogging, there has been an explosion of online podcasted content.

Podcasts are not just for iPods! iPods happen to have a clear native method for listening or viewing Podcasts, but they are not the only way to use this technology. Many RSS readers can listen to or view content provided in a podcast. Podcasting News offers a list of RSS clients that support podcasting.

Podcast Directories

• Wikipedia Podcast directory
• podCast 411
• Podcasting News - Directory of podcasts

There is a lot of great content for nonprofits that is podcasted. 501c3Cast and NetSquared (part of Tech Soup) are two great examples.

If you are like me and spend lots of time in your car going from site to site, you will find podcasting and the ability to download these feeds to an MP3 player to be phenomenally useful. If you are very lucky, you have an auxiliary jack on your car so that you can listen to your Podcasts through your stereo without dealing with the issues of FM transmitters.

Using iGoogle

Last month I wrote about iGoogle (formally known as Google Desktop), and I mentioned its ability to collect RSS feeds. This is the application I use for most of my RSS feeds, because I can collect my RSS data from any computer in the world with an Internet connection.

To demonstrate the use of iGoogle, I will subscribe to the T4T RSS feed. I use Firefox as my Internet browser, not only because it is more secure then Internet Explorer but because it is also handles RSS subscription better then Internet Explorer 6.

To subscribe, go to the T4T Webpage and then click on the RSS icon.

You will be taken to a page that allows you to choose the RSS feeder that you would like to use.

Once you press the subscribe button, you are taken into your RSS reader's interface. In the case of Google, you are given the choice between iGoogle and the Google Reader application. For this example, we will choose iGoogle. Once this is done, you will be sent to your iGoogle home page (if you have one set up), and the feed will show up for you to move.

Your RSS feeds will update when the organization providing the feed updates their content.

iTunes

I use iTunes for my podcasting because it is very easy to use, it syncs with my iPod, and the iTunes directory has a very easy to use intuitive interface for finding almost every known podcast.

To add the 501(c)3 cast from within iTunes, go to the Podcast section of iTunes.

You will then click on the Podcast directory icon in the lower right hand corner.

You will be taken to the iTunes Store, but most podcasts are FREE. In the search box in the upper right hand corner of the screen, type your search term. Since I know the name of podcast I am looking for, I can use its name, but you could also search for nonprofits or philanthropy.

You will be taken to a list of Podcasts that match your search results. You can then click on the displayed podcasts to find out more information about them. You will be able to see a list of past Podcasts still available and also a button to subscribe. Once you subscribe, the get button lets you add archived casts to your library.

When you open iTunes, your Podcasts library will be updated automatically. The 47 next to the Podcasts icon in the picture above shows how many Podcasts have not been listened to yet.

Conclusion

RSS and podcasting can be very valuable tools for saving you time, because you avoid the distraction of having to go to countless websites to find the content you want. With these technologies, you have your content delivered to you for simple browsing and review. Some applications make this process more efficient than others, but it is up to the user to figure out what works for them.