Become an RSS Super Hero in 3 Steps

Are you trying to monitor news, but just can't keep up? Have you realized how much information is available online but felt overwhelmed trying to keep track of it all? RSS is the secret weapon you need to become a news super hero.

RSS news feeds let you view news from many websites in one place. The potential is amazing! Anyone can monitor news from parents' blogs, other school districts, updates to specific Twitter and Wikipedia pages, and nearly any other website, all in less time than it would take to visit a handful of sites and check if they have anything new. And, it's so easy that you can get started in just 3 steps:

Step 1) Sign up for a Google Reader account. - You need an "RSS reader" (sometimes called an Aggregator) where you can choose news feeds you want to subscribe to and read their contents. Google Reader is great: it's free, it's easy, it's web-based (so you can log in from any computer), and you can use an existing Google account if you want.

Step 2) Get the web address of an RSS file. - Go to almost any site that posts news items and look for a small orange square with white radio waves in the middle. That icon is the universal symbol for RSS. Right-click on that icon, copy the link or web address. That is the web address of an "RSS file" -- a special file setup by the website that contains all the information your RSS reader needs to know about new items being posted on the site. Sometimes, instead of the icon, there might be words like "RSS" or "Subscribe to this site".

Step 3) Paste the web address into Google Reader. - Go back to your RSS reader and look for a button or link to add a subscription or feed. Paste the link you copied into the space provided.

Done! You've subscribed to an RSS feed. Keep finding and adding feeds from sites with information that's valuable to you. Remember, you don't have to read everything -- a big part of reading RSS feeds is skimming and just reading the items that are actually relevant to you (and then impressing everyone around you with your vast, cutting edge knowledge)!

OCC Week 2: Blogs

Thank you everyone for your participation in Week 1's study of LinkedIn. Your thoughts and recommendations will be part of the final proposal that goes to TSPRA in June. On to Week 2...

We will take a look at blogs. More specifically, we are interested in how a blog could possibly help TSPRA. Since I am(ahem) a little late getting the first day's info out there, it will be for Monday and Tuesday.

MONDAY/TUESDAY: Find an example of a blog that you like. Provide the URL for us and tell us what you like about it. (You will be awarded a few extra points if it is a blog for a professional organization, but it's not required.) If you're not sure how to tell if a site is a blog or just a garden-variety Web site, look for these tell-tale signs: users can make comments, articles (called "posts") are stamped with the date and the most up-to-date content is front and center and generally(not always) the writing is a bit more informal and less "newsy".
Want to search blogs only? Try Google Blogsearch. http://blogsearch.google.com/
Here's one I like (from PRSA San Antonio): http://prsanantonio.blogspot.com/
Here's the one for our district: http://yourmansfieldisd.blogspot.com

WEDNESDAY: Please review the section below, "Ideas," and offer your comments. Then, go find a mirror, look in it and say, "You're awesome!" That was from me. Enjoy your day.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: Let's continue the great discussion on the idea of the TSPRA blog. A few details are listed below. I added one related to promotion today. Otherwise, I think we are working toward a solid recommendation.

IDEAS FOR TSPRA BLOG:
*Regular posts would feature a group of regular authors(about 10). These authors would be required to write on a regular basis. A TSPRA staffer would be responsible for administrative duties related to the blog. A TSPRA member would serve as the Editor-in-Chief for blog content.
*The TSPRA president, EC and blog team would be responsible for encouraging subject-area experts to blog on related topics, i.e. bond elections, special event planning, online initiatives, etc.
*The TSPRA blog would need to secure an appropriate domain. This is inexpensive and will aid with credibility. (The other option, which is also fine, would be to use free hosting via blogspot, wordpress or typepad.)
*The TSPRA blog should be promoted in every possible venue. As the blog will serve as a showcase for the knowledge and talent within our organization and our field as a whole, it should be strongly promoted. Some outside(and inside) TSPRA will choose to interface mainly with the blog because that is where they are comfortable, so it deserves a strong focus.

A Great Video and Some Helpful Links About Blogging:

Social Media Presentation - April 25.

The notes, links, etc., from Richie Escovedo and Mansfield ISD's presentation on Social Media for School PR on April 25, 2008, is available on Richie's blog here .

If you weren't able to make it or if you were, there is a wealth of great information there.

Did the presentation make you think? Do you take exception, or want to cheer on anything that was said? Feel free to click Comment below and fire away. If you have a long-form comment, email it to me and I'll post it here as a new blog entry. Join the conversation. 

Mark Cuban's Locker Room Blog Policy.

Mark Cuban, who is known for being on the forefront of social media, shocked some this week by imposing a new blogging policy in his locker room. It's worth a read. He takes some shots at newspaper blogs, and marks a pretty solid defense for his policy. This does bring up some interesting issues for our group. For example...
1. Do we offer the same interviews, press releases, etc., to blog owners?
2. Related to Cuban's locker room situation, what is our policy if an army of bloggers want to be present at a news conference? Do blog writers from established media institutions get preference?(Cuban says no.)
Cuban's Blog: http://tiny.cc/iGAin
Wikinomics Blog: http://tiny.cc/nZgjO