From [[http://cpsquare.org CPsquare]], the community of practice on communities of practice.

... part of the technology for communities project, started off by the authors of [Digital Habitats], Etienne Wenger, Nancy White, and John D. Smith.

Project Contributing Category

Contents 1 Definition 2 Uses in communities of practice 3 Polarities 4 Key features 4.1 1. Operating Environment 4.2 2. Presentation/Interface 4.3 3. Features that allow community participation in subscriptions. 5 Related tools

Definition

RSS readers aggregate "feeds" generated via RSS, enabling a member to subscribe to and read selected RSS feed content. The reader regularly checks the feeds for the latest content (summaries and/or full contant) and then delivers them to the member.

Uses in communities of practice

• Notification and alerts of activities, issues and news
• Alerts subscribers to changes in web pages or the output of web applications
• Often used with blogs
• Able to share subscriptions with other members

RSS aggregators enable a member to quickly scan a list of new content from single or multiple sources. In a community, this allows an individual to manage all the content in a way that makes sense to them across a variety of sources and tools. Used in by a community (rather than just an individual) allows a community to compile, filter and share information in a flexible manner. For a list of current RSS readers see http://allrss.com/rssreaders.html

In the past alerts to new material on websites was done via email, but it was hard to organize the "feeds" with email. With RSS aggregators the user can organize information, control how it flows in and is handled in a more flexible and personal way.

Polarities

• Together/apart, Synch/Asynch:
• Interaction/publication:
• Individual/group:

Key features

1. Operating Environment

• Web based, stand alone or browser plugin. Depending on where members access the internet, having a choice of type of reader allows them to access their feeds via the web, offline or as an integrated experience within their browser
  • Options are important because communities and community members operate in different situations. In a limited bandwidth situation, a stand alone tool with offline reading capabilities is important. For people who move between computers, a web based option may be best. This variety allows personalization of the tool type to suit individual needs.

2. Presentation/Interface

• Organize feeds into folders Create folders to organize feeds by topics or any other taxonomy.
  • Useful to navigate larger collections of RSS feeds.
• Keep as new Typically after a RSS feed is loaded into the reader, it will not be shown again. "Mark as new" has it show up flagged as new.
  • Helpful for "going back and reading" later while doing quick scans of news reads.
• Manage subscriptions Easy ability to unsubscribe, change label on a read or choose to receive headlines or full feeds, if available.
  • An individual may stick with a set list of subscriptions, ore they may flux depending on quality of feeds and the member's interest. Ease of change makes this easy to manage.
• Make feeds public Share your RSS subscriptions with others via a web page or via the aggregation site (like Bloglines)
  • When community members share their feeds, they create a community filter system of valuable feeds.

3. Features that allow community participation in subscriptions.

• Create automated "blogrolls" Create a list of feeds you read, typically of blogs, to be shared on your own blog. (See also "blogrolls" in the Blog section.)
  • Blog rolls serve as community filters or pointers to key contributors and content.

Related tools

See also: [1]","RSS readers and aggregators