Feed Information

Feed URL

http://catalogueandindex.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

An Introduction to Newsfeeds

This blog can be delivered to you in several ways:

You can view it at http://catalogueandindex.blogspot.com/

You can add it to your news aggregator / reader. Each entry is available in full, so you should be able to add it to your subscriptions, using http://catalogueandindex.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default

Depending on the aggregator you use, you may be able to have updates posted to your email account or to be notified when new updates are available.

An Introduction to Aggregators

Many people use aggregators ("readers") to collect information from the websites they visit regularly. This saves them time, since they only need to visit one website to see 'what's new' on all their favourite sites.

Many free aggregators are available. These are just a few:

Bloglines

My Yahoo!

NewsGator

FeedReader

You can find others via Google or other search engines.

On each of these sites, you need to register and then "add" the sites you want to your list of "subscriptions." This is a one-off activity - once you've added a site to your subscription list, new additions to it will be notified to your aggregator's site automatically.

Some of these sites (e.g. Bloglines) allow you to set up an email account to which you can have any email newsletters sent. This saves your email inbox being filled with email notifications, and means that you can check one site to see 'what's new' at all the places in which you are interested.

E-mail

If you prefer to receive e-mail notification of new posts, some aggregators (e.g. NewsGator) will create an e-mail of new additions to the sites you have selected. At the moment, there is usually a charge for this facility.

Some aggregators (e.g. Bloglines) can provide you with a piece of software that you can download to your computer to notify you when new additions are made to the sites you have selected (e.g. on Bloglines this is called Bloglines Notifier).

More Information

Feeds and their technology are developing all the time. For example, it is possible to read XML feeds on mobile devices (such as phones and Blackberries).

This is just a small selection of articles to get you started if you are new to feeds and their readers:

BBC News on RSS Feeds

Yahoo! News on RSS feeds

About.com on the Top Ten Windows News Readers

Blogger on Atom feeds

About.com on the Top Ten Palm RSS Readers

Anne Welsh
Editor

This article has been adapted from Anne Welsh (formerly Bailey). 'Feeds for DrugData Update.' DrugData Update, 30 September 2005.