RSS Popper

You can follow the link above to the RSS Popper site, but I would suggest downloading it from CNET.com.

With all the talk about Blogs, we can't ignore one of the best functions offered by the...RSS. Real Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML document that tells an RSS aggregrator that there is something new on a Blog. If I just lost you, forget all about that tech talk. Just think of RSS as a way to "subscribe" to Blogs and get new posts (whole postings or summaries) sent to a program on your computer.

This is where RSS Popper comes in. RSS Popper is free and integrates with Outlook. While there are definately better aggregators out there, RSS Popper is the most convenient for me. I live out of Outlook and love anything that gets delivered there. Anything that I don't have to go search for.

Here's how it works.

1. Download and install the software (shut down Outlook first).
2. Then go to your favorite Blogs (including Podcasts) and look for a syndication link. Usually it looks like a square button that says something like--Syndication, RSS, Atomz (Blogger's default), etc....
3. Click on the link.
4. Copy the URL in the browser address bar.
5. Open Outlook.
6. Click on the RSS Popper button (this will appear after installing RSS Popper).
7. Choose "Edit Feeds".
8. Click on the "New" button.
9. Paste the link you copied previously into the "Link" field. The rest of the fields should fill in automatically.
10. Click "Ok", then "Ok" again.
11. The default settings will make a new folder for the new feed in the "RSS" folder that was created during install.

I suggest that you give it a try. This has made keeping up with my favorite Blogs (and news sites) so much easier and has really changed my view of Blogs as useful in education.

Let me explain the previous post

The last few posts have been my exploration of possible posting options through blogger. The first couple were audioblogger. These allowed me to call a central number and post an audio message from my cell phone.

The last one was entered through the browser on my cell. Blogger seems to have a decent wml pages for mobile access. The biggest problem in entering anything substancial using the keypad :)

From my cell

This message is from my cell. This is really slow :-)

Audioblogger

Here is a test message using Audioblogger. This is a service that allows Blogger users to call a central number and leave a message that is posted as an mp3 files in your blog. Kind of neat.

Trillian

Yet again, I'm a late comer on technology. If you're like me, you use an instand messenging software, but only one and that is where your friends have their account too. There are software applications out there that will free you from the constraints of a single messenging service. Trillian is an Instant Messenging software that aggregates many messenging applications into one application: AOL's AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!'s IM, ICQ, and IRC.

This makes it much easier to chat with friends, family, students, and coworkers just about anywhere they have an account, yet you only have to deal with a single interface. However, one drawback is that you have to go to each of the supported appications and sign up for accounts with them first.

It's getting more and more difficult to keep up with the technology that helps you keep up with people. Products like Trillian help by requiring only 1 program to run instead of 5.

File Sharing on Social Networks

While this may not be an entirely new idea, I think that this article by Kaye lays out a solid framework for file sharing social networks.

I think he may be missing the larger possibilities with this approach though. First, why build something like this from scratch? Incorporation into existing social networking applications/site/etc... would supplement the activities of the community and add a level of shared community artifacts unparalleled in any existing community.