Getting the Word Out Using RSS
With Real Simple Syndication (RSS), you can circulate snippets of information that encourage people to link to further information. It is an increasingly popular way to spread news, and it offers museums another means of publicizing events, exhibits or other offerings. Besides additional text, the link can alternatively lead to a video clip, a podcast or even a multimedia presentation. RSS is about distribution, not the type of content you want to promote.
What is RSS?
There are five different versions of RSS currently in use. RSS 2.0 is recommended as the standard for general purpose syndication.
The headline, link, and accompanying blurb is stored on the creator's Web site in a simple text file that is made known to RSS feed readers, which in turn distribute this information to interested readers. Recipients can then click on the link to access the full item.
How Are RSS Feeds Accessed?
RSS feeds may be accessed either through Web sites that display pre-selected RSS feeds (usually by themes), or through an RSS newsreader (e.g. Google News).
A free Web-based application, such as Bloglines allows you to subscribe to various feeds. You are able to indicate which items you would you like to keep for reference later on.
How Can One Create an RSS Feed?
An actual RSS 2.0 feed is a very simple text document created using a text editor such as Notepad. A word processor such as Word or Wordperfect cannot be used to create this file. This text file contains tagged information and ends in the extension '.xml'.
For an example of what an RSS feed file looks like, as well as details on the meaning of each tag, how to add and update content, and to follow a step-by-step methodology to create your own feed, see the following tutorial.
Commercial software is also available for purchase to create RSS feeds. Once you have created your version of such a document, you simply upload it to your Web site with your Web site files.
Having created an RSS feed, it could then be validated using RSS feed validator, which is a free service that checks RSS code to ensure that it has the correct format and can be picked up.
How can Museums effectively use RSS?
The real challenge for museums to successfully implement an RSS feed is not a technical one, but has rather to do with distribution. The challenge is to reach a targeted audience through subscriptions. Because a museum feed does not fit into a broad category like 'news' or 'sports' it can easily be overlooked by the general public.
One method of successfully distributing an RSS feed is to become part of a larger feed that reaches a target audience. City feeds, which are often targeted at tourists as well as residents, are an excellent showcase for a museum RSS feeds. A number of Canadian cities offered RSS feeds, including Port Moody, British Columbia, Chiliwack, British Columbia and Winnipeg, Manitoba.
RSS provides museums with an opportunity to get the word out to the community at large about news, events and collections. In the process, it provides another means to attract visitors to museum collections.