sharing content through syndication ace/netc june 2, 2005
TRANSCRIPT
Sharing Content Through Syndication
ACE/NETC
June 2, 2005
Presented by:
• Deb Coates, ISU
• Nichole Burgett, ISU
• Ray Kimsey, NCSU
• Floyd Davenport, ISU
• Kevin Gamble, eXtension
What we know
• We have content
• We want to share it
• People want our content (we hope)
• People will use our content if they can find it
Factors
• Too much information
• Too little time
• Infrequently updated information
• Information where timeliness matters
• Visibility
• Accessibility
Syndication?
What is Syndication?
• Packaging news and other web-published information for re-distribution
• XML standards (RSS, Atom)
• Feeds carry content and information about content (metadata)
What is RSS?
• Rich Site Summary
• RDF Site Summary
• Real Simple Syndication
What is RSS (con’t)?
• A format for syndicating news and news-like sites
• RSS can syndicate:– Major news sites (NYTimes)– News-oriented community sites
(Slashdot)– Weblogs
Also, Aggregation...
Aggregation
• Collect syndication feeds in one place
• Sort information by topic
• Re-syndicate information
• Searchable
• Archivable
So...
• Sharing content through syndication uses RSS and News aggregation to ‘push’ content directly to subscribers
• Syndication reaches new audiences and makes it easier for people who want the news you have to receive it
Two years ago...
• Most Extension news sites not dynamic
• No syndication feeds
• Need to aggregate topic sites (food safety) for critical information and efficiency
Factors
• Locally managed content
• Collaborative aggregation
• Alerts
• Multiple formats
• Standards-based tagging
• Local Contributions (anyone can contribute)
Tasks
• Registration system
• RSS Validation application
• Parse, store and aggregate items
• Allow users to search for and display lists of items
• Allow users to pull feeds by topic and to re-post feeds on local web sites
What does it take to prepare a site for RSS
• Convert from static to dynamic
• Develop categories
• Set up data entry procedures
Outcomes
Web Services
Provide a Web Service Interface
• Another way that you can retrieve dynamic news feeds built upon specialized query options.
Advantage
• Platform independent since we are using a SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)
Microsoft .NET and Apache/PHP
$ws_feedparms = array( 'feedID' => 61, // blog id - 57 is Deb's blog 'maxItems' => 10, // max number of items to return 'width' => 250, // column width 'textSize' => 12, // text size 'titleTextColor' => '000000', // text color 'textFont' => 'Arial, Helvitica, san-serif', // font face 'textAlign' => 'left', // text alignment 'titleBackground' => 'ffffff', // title background color 'xmlButton' => true, // display xml button image 'boxBackground' => 'ccdddd', // box background -- color 'openNew' => true, // open new window 'desLimit' => 150 // description limit);
Parameters
Metadata tagging of news
• Allow for customized feeds based on:– Topic area, example food safety– Location, southern coastal, USDA Hardiness
Zone– Intended audience– State or region of the country– Many other ways
Content Sharing Through Syndication
A project with:
• Iowa State University
• North Carolina State University
• University of Nebraska
• New Mexico State University
• ...funded with a grant from ADEC
eXtension and RSS
News is a central part of all CoPsThe vision is something like:
Topix.netNeed:
Dublin Core MetadataFull text feeds
Reality: Not likely - capacity is not thereCreating capacity? - virtual news
creation engine likeWiki News
Check it out:
http://www.extension.iastate.edu/feeds