Blog Posts About: Technology in Plain English

As you can see in the right nav, I’m now offering two different “feeds�? for my site, Atom and RSS. Having both may prompt you to ask “What’s the difference? Why have both? What are they for anyway?�?

What you need to know is that they do the same thing. They allow Internet users subscribe to a “feed�? from a web site. By subscribing to a feed, a user can be notified when a website has been updated. More on this here.

The whole RSS vs. Atom history is rich and interesting, but I’ll spare you. Just know this: RSS came first, it worked, but was deemed imperfect by many. Updated: Be sure to check out Dave Winer's Version History of RSS.

However, the RSS concept was so good that it brought together a wide variety of developers and companies to develop a new syndication format that would benefit everyone equally. This new format is called Atom and you could call it a competitor to RSS.

So, there are now two basic formats for syndicating a web site. RSS is older with many different versions, Atom is newer, more standard, and only beginning to be adopted. Atom was constructed to work across a wide variety of platforms and devices.

I offer both so that I do not exclude any user from subscribing from my site. I would personally like to see Atom become the leading format because it is built by a diverse community who “baked-in�? the ability for Atom to evolve with consistency over time.

For more info:

The Atom Wiki (motivation page)
Webmonkey: Mighty Atom -Really Similar Syndication?
Atom Enabled.org

If you are a Movable Type user, you can get the Atom index template from the site.

Have you ever made a connection in your head that made you want to immediately run out and tell everyone you know what you just learned? I had one of these moments recently when I learned about a new way to describe online communication resources like online communities, email lists, weblogs and wikis.

The terms are "Stock" and "Flow"and they have prompted me to look at the online communication world through a different lens. My excitement has also prompted me to write an article so I can share the application of these terms with the world.

I’ll be using this weblog to present the article over the next week. I’ve divided the article into three parts and will post the sections using this title: An Introduction to Stocks and Flows (part X of X).

The 3 sections are:

I: What are Stocks and Flows? An Example. (April 1st)
II: Stocks, Flows, Weblogs and Wikis (April 5th)
III: The Case for Stocks and Flows. Conclusion (April 7th)

My hope is that these new terms will contribute a new perspective to our community. I encourage you to be part of the flow as these sections are posted over the next week. Subscribe via RSS and the information will flow to you. More on RSS here.

Just so you know, I considered the title “Come Flow with Lee�? for this post, but thankfully reconsidered.

In using weblogs, you have likely seen the word TrackBack or TrackBack URL - this post will help you understand what TrackBack is, why it exists and how to use it, in Plain English.

The folks at Six Apart designed TrackBack and they offer a great beginner's guide here. My intent is to present TrackBack in my own words using descriptions from my perspective.

An Introduction:

TrackBack could be compared to carbon copying someone on an email. Suppose you write an email to your manager and talk specifically about a person on your project team. In this case, you'd like the person mentioned in the email to be aware that you mentioned them, so you add their email address to the CC: line of the email. This let's them know- I'm talking about you, and I want you to know.

In the weblog world, TrackBacks accomplish the same type of notification (also called a ping). It allows one weblogger to notify the other in an effort to say I"m talking about you, and I want you to know. Instead of a carbon copy on an email, the weblogger uses a special URL (called a TrackBack) that sends a notification to the specific weblog entry it would like to notify. When a TrackBack has been sent from one weblog to another, the receiving weblog displays the TrackBack like a comment:

How do I use TrackBacks, as a reader of weblogs?

TrackBacks allow you to navigate to other weblogs, where people are commenting on the subject-at-hand. By following the TrackBack links at the bottom of weblog entries, you are likely to find a variety of perspectives and opinions regarding a single weblog post. It lets you see how others in the weblog community are responding to the post. In this way, TrackBacks allow you to navigate a community of discussions across multiple weblogs.

How do I use TrackBacks, as a Weblogger?

First, understand that not all webloggers enable TrackBack functionality. When they do, you should see a TrackBack link at the bottom of an entry. Once you find the link, copy it, and go to your weblog tool and create a new entry related to that post. Before posting your entry, paste the TrackBack link into your weblog tool. In Movable Type, the field is called "URLs to Ping". Once you've pasted the link into the tool, it will send the notification to the other weblog once you post your entry.

What a pain! why isn’t it easier?

Actually, there is an alternative called Auto Discovery and it has to be turned on in your Movable Type control panel (versions 2.5 and up). Using Auto Discovery, you don't have to futz with the TrackBack link. You can use the permanent link as you normally would when linking to another weblog. The Auto Discovery system recognizes if the site being linked-to has TrackBack enabled and if so, it automatically notifies the site via TrackBack. To add a little more to this mix, you can use a Movable Type Bookmarklet to make it even easier to manage- see the MT Beginner's Guide.

I see comments on weblogs all the time, why don't people just leave comments instead?

A TrackBack is like a comment, except the comment occurs on another weblog. Instead of leaving a comment, the weblogger posts a new entry on their site and sends a TrackBack notification to the original post, which closes the loop. This allows the weblogger to take the original post in a new direction and present it for their readers. This way, both weblogs benefit by having an explicit link between them, which enables visitors navigate between them easily.

Why would someone use TrackBack- what's the big friggin' deal?

I think a part of it is selfishness, and I say that playfully. Webloggers want compelling content on their web sites- they want to turn their readers onto something new. Also, they get a lot of inspiration from other webloggers and gain from participating in a community of webloggers.

Participation in this community takes many forms. One form is leaving comments on other weblogs- which contributes content to another person's weblog. A second form of community participation is TrackBack- which allows the weblogger to contribute to a discussion using their weblog instead of someone else's. In this way, TrackBack allows a weblogger to use their own weblog to actively participate in the community.

Why don't all sites use TrackBacks?

Most sites have the ability use TrackBacks, but not all do. My guess is that TrackBack and its advantages are not well understood among webloggers. Also, I would say that, like comments, not every weblog owner wants to have input from the outside world on their weblog. Further, most popular weblog tools can use TrackBack, but some do not "play well" with TrackBack.

More Plain English Explanations:

RSS
Blogroll

Updated:  We've created a video that explains this concept much more effectively. View it here.

RSS is often discussed in very technical terms- so my hope with this post is to describe RSS in plain language using general terms.

First, the "RSS" acronym itself isn't that important- in fact, there is disagreement on what it actually stands for. The front runners are: Rich Site Summary and Really Simple Syndication. But again, don't clutter your brain with that.

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Here's what you need to know about RSS: It allows you be notified when a web site has been updated.
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How does RSS help me know when a web site has been updated?

A growing number of web sites are adding an RSS "feed" to their site. Most of the time, you'll find the feed(s) by looking for a little button or link that says "XML", "RSS", or "Syndicate this site".

When you see the button or link- you've found the feed for that site. An RSS "feed" is the website's way of alerting subscribers that the website has been updated. It feeds subscribers the latest updates that have occurred on the web site.

How do I use RSS? What do I need to "subscribe"?

When you find an RSS feed for a site you like, you will subscribe to the feed in order to be notified. You *must* have a tool that can read these RSS feeds- they swallow what the site is "feeding".

These tools are often referred to as "News Aggregators", "RSS Readers" or "News Readers". There are an abundance of tools out there. I use NewsGator (www.newsgator.com), because it works inside MS Outlook. Bloglines (www.bloglines.com) is web-based and very popular too. List of them here: LockerGnome's RSS Resource

How do I subscribe to an RSS feed?

First- you need an aggregator as described above. Then, the single thing you'll need is the URL (link) for the site's RSS feed.

Usually, you can click the little "XML" or "RSS" button and it will display a bunch of code- don't worry about the code. What you need is the web site address that appears when you click the XML button.

It usually looks like: http://www.sitename.com/index.rdf or
http://www.sitename.com/index.xml . Once you have that address, you add it to your aggregator and you're all set as a subscriber. Aggregators make the subscription process easier in varied ways.

Why would I need RSS? What is the advantage?

Remember- the big deal is it allows you be notified when a web site has been updated. Normally, you would have to proactively visit the site or subscribe to get email as updates occur. RSS alerts you without email. RSS prevents you from having to be proactive. You just subscribe and watch the notifications roll into your news aggregator. Also, RSS is unspammable because you control your
subscriptions- the site owner never has your contact info.

That's great, but what would I use if for?

OK, this is going to get a little philosophical. The nature of "news" is changing, partially because of the growth of weblogs. There will always be CNN-type news, but weblogs have added a personal dimension to "news".

These days, there are thousands upon thousands of independent news niche's that are being served by webloggers (a vast majority of which offer RSS feeds). What is considered "news" is now a very personal thing. When my friend Anthony posts to his weblog- that is news to me. RSS (and an Aggregator) allows me to keep up with many, many news sources using a single tool.

OK, but I don't like weblogs- what can RSS do for me?

Now we're getting to what's causing the buzz. Increasingly, all kinds of web sites are adding RSS feeds. For instance, I get notified when iTunes adds a new artist in the genre I like. In the future, more and more people will browse the web subscribing to RSS feeds for their favorite sites.

Further, many think that the days of email newsletters are numbered because people will eventually use RSS instead.

Examples of non-weblog RSS feeds:

• The Village Voice
• Apple Computer
• National Weather Service
• Wired News
• Yahoo! Buzz Index
• More Here...

In looking at these various uses- think about all the ways these RSS style notifications could be used- in company Intranets, when your item sells on eBay, when a reply has been posted to your discussion in an online community, etc. The uses are limitless.

I hope this has been helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions or take issue with my descriptions. :) Of course, my weblog has an RSS feed and the address is: http://www.commoncraft.com/index.rdf

Updated: Dave Winer, "inventor" of RSS, has posted a version history of RSS that describes how RSS came to be in its current form.

Also, I recently posted: What is Atom? How does it Compare to RSS?

Every industry has it own language. I wouldn’t expect to be able to visit a conference on jet propulsion and understand the language. This is fine with me as I don’t need to understand jet propulsion to be productive in my life.

This brings me to the theme of this post: Internet technologies and online communication tools are innovations that can make a difference in the every day life of ordinary people, but the language we use to describe them can create a barrier to mass understanding and adoption. Unlike jet propulsion, the language of Internet technologies often needs translation into terms that an industry outsider can understand.

An example: I believe that RSS is a technology/concept that will eventually be used by a majority of Internet users in the future in one form or another. It is in its infancy now and how the world adopts RSS will depend, to some degree, on the language we use to describe it in these early days.

I recently witnessed the interaction below (names have been changed to protect the innocent)

Bob: So what is RSS?

Sally: Oh, it’s an XML-based syndication format

Bob: (dumfounded look)

Technical language and jargon will always have its place and the high-tech industry depends on it. However, at the point where the products of the industry touch ordinary people, some form of translation has to occur. Otherwise, the general non-technical public may continue a cycle of learned helplessness, where they give up on learning about technology because no one can explain (in simple terms) how it works and why they would want to use it.

What if the exchange above had gone like this:

Bob: What is RSS?

Sally: Oh, it’s a new way for you to be notified when a web site has been updated.

Bob: Why would I want to know that?

Sally: Because increasingly, people are depending on a wide variety of web sites for news. Using RSS and a “newsreader�? you can choose to be notified when your favorite web sites have been updated without getting email. It saves you time and increases your awareness.

Bob: Whoa- I want to know more about that!

The lesson here is that we need more translators. There are new technologies out there that may end up touching a majority of Internet users in the future. If we want these technologies to be adopted by the mainstream, we have to be able to describe them in terms that the mainstream can understand.

A while back I wrote about "What is an Online Community?�? in terms of understanding the basic concept of online communities. The theme was that online communities are “communities�? first and “online�? second - meaning that the “online�? part is secondary to the real-world community that is using the web site.

Building on this point, I’ve been thinking about how to relate this theme to businesses. If a business is interested in the online community concept or curious about where to start, the points below outline, very generally, my perspective.

1. The first step is to document the major needs you see within your customer base and your business. By outlining the major needs, you can set related goals for improving service, saving money on support, increasing loyalty, competitive advantage, web site utilization, etc.
2. Next, look at your customers and think about the best ways to group them into logical work groups, if they aren’t already grouped. Who could/would benefit most by sharing information? By focusing on work groups, you are defining the real-world communities that you’ll serve.
3. Match the needs you outlined in #1 to the real-world communities you outlined in #2. Each community may have different needs. The key is to understand each community’s biggest needs.
4. Now it’s time to think about your web site and how you can serve the needs and communities using online community technology. By using online community technology on your site, you are simply providing the real-world communities an online “home�? where you can offer them new resources designed to serve their needs.

While online communities will not serve every need or accomplish every goal, they can be effective in addressing many common issues. Below are common outcomes of a successful online community:

• Decreased cost savings in customer support
• Increased customer loyalty
• Increased relationships and knowledge sharing among customers
• Increased business knowledge of customer issues and ideas
• Increased competitive advantage
• Increased web site page views

These points are most applicable for small to medium sized businesses that have a web site and are looking for new ways to use the web site to serve customers.

See also: Customer Communities: Negative Feedback can be Your Friend