Dynamic ContentDynamic Content

tickers, headlines & external news links

“Subscribing [to] news articles has been a very popular way of getting news. For many users, it is both time and cost efficient to subscribe [to] news and read materials via hyperlinks on [web] pages.”

-Wang, Yu, Li and Li

“According to the BBC, one blog is created every second these days, reaching more than 14.2 million blogs.”

-Jun and Ahamad

Big questions for Information Big questions for Information ArchitectsArchitects

How to provide news content tailored to the user’s personal needs and interests

How to present that content

What one “recent” study What one “recent” study showsshows

Users want more information about their news stories

Background informationWhat others thinkRelated news

Users want multimedia content built into the user interface design

What does “dynamic” What does “dynamic” mean?mean?Web pages that provide an

interactive experience

Responds to different contexts or conditions set by the user

How are dynamic web pages How are dynamic web pages created?created?

Client-side scripting◦JavaScript◦Action Script

Server-side scripting◦PHP◦Perl◦ASP

That said… back to news That said… back to news feedsfeedsNews feeds generally rely on XML

XML is eXtensible Mark up Language. It’s different from HTML in that it’s self-describing. That is, HTML tells the browser how the page should look. XML gives the page meaning.

Feeds are XML code that allow a web site (or browser) to talk to an aggregator or feed reader

News FeedsNews Feeds

RSS: Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary, or RDF Site Summary

Atom: an XML-based Web content and metadata syndication format

RSS: Really Simple RSS: Really Simple SyndicationSyndicationRSS is a family of Web feed formats

used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. --Wikipedia.org

AtomAtomThe name Atom applies to a pair

of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol (referred to as 'AtomPub' for short) is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating Web resources. --Wikipedia.org

RSS vs. AtomRSS vs. Atom

RSSVersion 2.0HarvardFrozenFuture work

encouragedBasis for Atom

AtomVersion 1.0AtomPub Working

GroupIETFStructured for

further modification

Sometimes no aggregator is required

What the code looks likeWhat the code looks like<xml version="1.0">

<rdf:RDF xmlns:rdf="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#" xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/">

<channel><title>Title of the Web site </title><link>URL of the homepage for the RSS feed</link><description>Short description of the Web site </description>

</channel><item>

<title>Enter your title for the specific story or article here</title><link>Enter the URL for the specific page of the story or article here </link><description>Enter a short description of your story or article here </description>

</item></rdf:RDF>

Before aggregationBefore aggregation

Ways to aggregate feedsWays to aggregate feedsStand-alone

◦FeedreaderWeb-based***

◦Google Reader◦Bloglines

Browser-based◦Firefox

Email Client-based◦Thunderbird (Mozilla)

Stand-alone: Feedreader3Stand-alone: Feedreader3

Web-based: Google readerWeb-based: Google reader

Integrating multimedia Integrating multimedia contentcontent

Integrating multimedia Integrating multimedia contentcontent

CustomizationCustomization

Share itemsShare items

Web-based: BloglinesWeb-based: Bloglines

Browser-based Browser-based feed:feed:

Bookmarks > Bookmarks > Organize Organize Bookmarks >Bookmarks >File >File >New Live New Live BookmarkBookmark

Email client-based feedEmail client-based feed

TickersTickers

What’s the significance?

Reduces information overload by filtering content

RSS Feeds provide access to the deep web◦ Search engines only touch 6% of the Internet

Allows for personalized design

XML behind RSS = “an emergent semantic standard”

Access to blogs that search engines can’t reach

Feeds put to good useFeeds put to good use

Ten RSS Hackshttp://www.micropersuasion.com/2005/10/

ten_rss_hacks.html

Tracking RSS Beyond Headlineshttp://www.basement.org/archives/2006/01/

taking_rss_beyond_headlines_pa.html

Downloads and add onsDownloads and add ons

RSS Ticker :: Firefox Add Onshttps://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/2325Sage :: Firefox Add Onshttps://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/77BBC News Tickerhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/help/3223354.stmCNN Desktop newshttp://edition.cnn.com/services/desktopnews/

ReferencesReferences

i312 Information in Cyberspacecyberspace.ischool.utexas.edu

“nReader: Reading News Quickly, Deeply and Vividly” by Wang, Yu, Li, and Li

“FeedEx: Collaborative Exchange of News Feeds” by Jun and Ahamed

Any questions?Any questions?