Why You Should be Using RSS

It's been a little while since I posted, but there's a good reason. It's not that I haven't had any ideas of what to write about; instead, I knew *exactly* what I wanted to write, and just needed to free up the time to do it.

If you're not already using RSS feeds, hopefully, this post will be revolutionary for you. But, it's important to tread lightly ... RSS feeds are addicting. I'm also going to warn you - this will be a fairly lengthy post.

In simple terms, RSS feeds enable you to be notified when websites/webpages you want to follow are updated. It's that easy. There's no need to worry about the technology or anything like that.

When Internet browsers first began, we had these great little tools called "bookmarks" - where you could return to a site and check out new content. If you're like me, you bookmarked and bookmarked and bookmarked -- so much that it's impossible to keep up with everything.

So, RSS feeds allow me to be notified when there's new content. Now, rather than me having to waste my time checking on the sites, I can check out the content in one place, only when it's updated. It's a huge win-win!

STEP 1: Get a Reader
RSS feeds are essentially code. You need a reader to be able to read them. Thankfully, a reader makes everything easy. There are several options, but I'm going to recommend Google Reader. There's only a few drawbacks to Google Reader (and, most of the alternatives have them, as well). The positives are enormous:

1. It's portable - you can access it anywhere
2. It's not going anywhere -- Google is here for the long haul
3. You have a lot of control over the organization of your feeds

As you can see from the image, I have my feeds organized into several folders - Jobs, Friends, Communications, Business Writing, etc. You control how to organize the feeds (and, it's pretty intuitive).

Next to each 'folder', is the number of unread messages in the folder (including all the feeds you've placed in there). You can also click on the + sign next to the folder to show all the individual feeds, and select just ONE of the feeds in the folder to view.

When you click on one of the folders, you'll get all the posts. If it's bolded, it's unread. Easy again. If you've clicked on the main folder, you'll see the feed name to the left of the post (so you know where it came from); if you select just one feed, that column is missing (obviously).

And that's it - that's all there is to reading in Google Reader. You can select to see a list (my preference) or a detailed look (where the entire body of the post is displayed). As you scroll down, you'll continue to load items (so you can see all the unread posts). I like the list because I can normally tell from the subject line whether I want to read the post. Once I'm done with a folder, I click on the "Mark all as read" button, and the folder is refreshed. Nothing is deleted -- you can always go back and hunt for something, or you can search using the search tool.

STEP 2: Start adding feeds
In the early days, it was hard to find RSS feeds, as there were several standards. Today, there's one icon, which makes it easy. If you're using Firefox as your browser (and, if you're not, you should be), 99% of the sites with RSS feeds show the symbol in the location bar (where the URL is located). The rest of the time, it'll be somewhere else on the page, but almost ALWAYS with this symbol.

Blogs, by their design have RSS feeds. Most older-established websites don't (but, I'm going to tell you how to work with them, too).

So, that's it - find content, add it, read it, enjoy. I'd recommend starting with this blog!

STEP 3: Organizing your feeds
Once you've added feeds to Google Reader, you'll want to organize them, so similar topics are together. This, too, is easy. On the bottom left of the screen is a link for "Manage subscriptions." You'll see a list of all your feeds. Pick one and to the far right there'll be a pull-down menu to "Add to folder." You'll select the option for a new folder, which you can then name. The feed will be automatically placed there.

You can either manually add all your feeds that way or you can drag-and-drop them in the main screen. Again, the emphasis is on simple. Always.

STEP 4A: Advanced Steps
So, once you've moved past the basics, you'll eventually come to crave content on pages that *don't* offer an RSS feed (and, yes, sadly, those sites do exist). What to do?

Well, there are two different options that should address MOST of the needs. Both take a few steps to set up, but ultimately, they're easy enough to execute.

If you're lucky enough to find a site that gives you the option to receive updates via email, you're in luck. Of course, it's no fun to get this information through email -- we're here to *reduce* our email clutter; not add to it. And that's why RSS is the best option ... with email, you have to deal with the email when it arrives -- read it or put it to the side; and -- too often -- it goes to the side and gets forgotten. With RSS, you can plan when to check your reader, and you can deal with it on your terms.

So, here's the trick: Sign up for GMail (or any mail service that offers an RSS feed -- that's right, Gmail has an RSS feed attached to it (you're starting to see where this is going, right?))

Ah, but here's where Google throws you a curve ball. For some reason, Google Reader doesn't handle (warning: little bit of tech jargon ahead) authenticated feeds -- these are feeds that are linked to password protected accounts ... like GMail. Why? I don't know (I thought these were both Google products!). Thankfully, very few RSS feeds are linked to authenticated feeds. But, we have a way around that too.

After attempting to add the feed to Googe Reader, copy the RSS feed text (it'll look like this: https://mail.google.com/mail/feed/atom) and then, head over to FreeMyFeed. Paste that text and add your user name and password. FreeMyFeed will generate a new, NON-authenticated feed for you, which you can then add to Google Reader.

The advantage of using GMail is you can archive your mail and still access it through Google Reader. But, if you *delete* your mail, you won't be able to access it, obviously. *Warning* - Sending your GMail to Google Reader will not generate the entire body of the email; but only the header (see STEP 4C, below, for more info).

You can also use FreeMyFeed to capture your Twitter feed, if you wish. Obviously, you can't reply or post to Twitter from GoogleReader, but you can, quickly, read the posts and click the post to head over to Twitter to post or reply from there.

I'm using this method to stay up-to-date on LinkedIn Group discussions, as well as my Twitter feeds. Remarkably, LinkedIn is NOT RSS-friendly, so it requires a little work to funnel everything to Google Reader (see STEP 4C below).

STEP 4B: More Advanced Steps
And, what if you can't get an email alert from the page? Again, there's a way around that, as well. And, it requires another service.

(Early warning: Google Reader recently launched a service that they claim will provide an RSS feed to any page that doesn't have one - don't believe the hype. It doesn't catch every change on the page, and it doesn't tell you *what* changed on the page; just that the page has changed. The jury is out on this one).

But, thankfully, there is another option. Copy the URL of the page you want to track (and, this is important, here, you're tracking the individual page, not the whole site ... so, if there's multiple pages on the site you want to track, you need to do this for each of them). Head over to ChangeDetection and sign up for an account. You can then follow the steps to add the page to be monitored. After you set up the page, select the "RSS only" notification on the next page before finalizing the monitor.

On the home page of ChangeDetection, in the upper left, under "My Account", you'll see a link for an RSS feed. Click on that, and choose to NOT have it password protected (thus cutting out the FreeMyFeed step). At the bottom, there's text for the RSS feed. Copy that text and - on the Google Reader page towards the top, under the Google Reader logo, you'll see an option to "Add a Subscription." Paste the text there and add your feed to whatever folder you want.

The best part of this - each monitor you have will generate its own post (so, you won't have to scroll through all the monitors ... each one is its own thread in Google Reader). When you access the notification, you'll select the option to "show the change log" and then, when you arrive back at the ChangeDetection site, select the date you want to check for (most likely, the most recent, if you're checking this every day).

What you'll see is a snapshot of the page with all the changes clearly marked. Additions to the page are shown in yellow; deletions are shown with strikethrough text. It's that easy -- instantly, you can see exactly what changed on every page.

I know this sounds confusing, but it's infinitely easier in practice. And, thankfully, more and more websites are using/embracing RSS technology.

STEP 4C: The Most Advanced Steps
Okay - deep breath now. I know I mentioned above that you can access GMail through Google Reader (with some steps), but it doesn't deliver the entire message. So, here's the way around that (and, this is how I handle getting my LinkedIn Group messages (which really *should* have RSS feeds attached to them).

So, bear with me. You're going to sign up for a blog at blogger.com. Once you create a blog, under "settings" you'll want to activate the ability to "post via email" and set it to go automatically. What this means is - everytime an email comes in to the email address you specify, it will post to the blog.

Now, subscribe to the blog via RSS (same as we outlined in Step 2). Then, use this new blogger email address for email newsletters. What does this all mean?

It means, every time a newsletter is emailed, it will get posted to your blog (which you have subscribed to), and thus, you'll get an individual RSS notification for every email sent.

Or, if you don't want people to *ever* see the blog (because, effectively, it *is* public,) you can set the newsletter to still be delivered to your GMail account and then, set up a filter to automatically forward those emails to the blogger email account, and simultaneously delete the message from GMail. End result - it still posts to your blog and you still can subscribe to it; but your 'blogger' email is hidden

Credit for this has to go to Digital Inspiration (see Idea 4).

STEP 5: Enjoy!
And that's everything. With this tutorial, you can add RSS feeds, you can access email alerts through your feed reader and you can get RSS-like updates on changes.

For me, the impact has been major. Just in checking for jobs, I'll receive nearly 2500 job postings every week and I can get through them in about 90 minutes. These listings come from around 125 different sites ... it would be impossible for me to check them all each week without RSS feeds.

Remember though, like nearly everything else on the Internet, with the exception of Google Reader, many of these hacks/workarounds are flighty - they won't necessarily be around forever. Many of the tools touted by websites just 2-3 years ago are now gone, so keep that in mind.

Let me know how you like using RSS and Google Reader, and - by all means - let me know if you have questions. I've barely scraped the surface of what you can do with these tools; but the best thing you can do is just play around until you find what works best for you!

American Idol Dilemma

I've never been a fan of any reality TV. I've resisted the urge to watch Survivor or any of the other reality-based competitions (although, more recently, I *have* fallen prey to the cooking shows).

Nevertheless, for the longest time, I stayed reality-TV free, and bemoaned the demise of the scripted TV show. Last year, towards the end of its season, I began watching American Idol, mainly because I'd been reading so much about Adam Lambert, and wanted to see what all the fuss was about.

Obviously, I'm a huge fan of competitions (my primary hobby is boardgaming, and the cooking shows I've come to enjoy are VERY competition-oriented), so American Idol's method of removing one candidate each week was quite appealing to me.

I decided, this year, to start watching from the beginning, in hopes that I might be even more invested in the show -- and, so far, that's worked. It's also provided some classic moments ("I'mma gonna ride on a air-o-plane!")

But, in the more recent episodes, an interesting dilemma has emerged -- one of the contestants -- "Big" Mike Lynche -- was in the early stages of the competition, having made the first cut to get to Hollywood, when his wife went into labor with their child.

I explained to my wife that this would be a difficult situation to be in -- whether to stay for the auditions or be home for the birth. She said, "You stay, obviously!" But, I don't know that it's that obvious.

The odds of making the next level are astronomically bad. The odds of being the ultimate winner are even more infinitesimal. Does it seem like something you would want to miss the birth of your child to pursue?

Perhaps I'm too cautious in life...I think I would be hard-pressed to miss a childbirth to pursue something as far-fetched as American Idol, but, then again, I've never been in such a position; maybe, if I'd spent my life pursuing something like that, I'd feel differently...then again, perhaps it's age and maturity -- I've come to learn what really matters in life, and what you shouldn't take for granted.

How about you? Would you miss the birth of your child if you had the opportunity to pursue a dream like American Idol?

Jump down if you want to read a spoiler about the season (and, don't get mad if you do)!































What makes "Big Mike's" decision more forgivable is that, apparently, he *had* made it to the Top 24 (one of the top 12 men), which now raises the odds considerably for success....and then, his dad told the papers, and Mike was jettisoned from the competition for violating the confidentiality agreement.

He's still listed in the spoilers for the top 24 contestants (remember, don't click the link and blame me!)...but, I'm most disappointed that my early choice, Charity Vance, didn't make the cut, apparently. I'm still hoping against hope that the leaked list isn't actually accurate or official.

I desperately need a job.

You Must Have So Much Time on Your Hands....

When you're unemployed, it's not unusual for people to assume you have a lot of free time. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.

I wish it was the truth -- there are countless projects that I'd love to complete, and - obviously - this is the most non-work time I'll (hopefully) ever have. It's no surprise to anyone who knows me that I value organization highly. I have a 'task list' of 120-some-odd tasks that I'd love to complete (which range from finally organizing my bookmarks (on several different machines); to redesigning my gaming group's score database; and finally, redesigning my personal website).

At first, these tasks led to one pile....(currently housed in my basement). However, as my ability to complete these tasks is more delayed, the pile has started to migrate - now up to my living room (much to my wife's chagrin)...

Compounding matters - and looming over my head like an albatross - is my boardgaming room; which was in disarray before my lay-off; then, got further disturbed when the home was hit by lightning, necessitating the entire security system be replaced, and now, it's just a lost cause (but, in typical Chris fashion, all/most of the above tasks need to be completed before the games can be organized.

And - so far - through my time in unemployment; I've done nearly nothing towards completing these tasks, which is a source of frustration. Even more irritating, I haven't even finished everything I want to do in terms of job-searching; there are still many tasks I'm hoping to accomplish, to both increase my networking and my odds of landing a great new position.

I've continued my professional development, by reading a number of books on social media (specific to individuals...so, my knowledge of Twitter and LinkedIn has grown exponentially). And, I've been fortunate to have secured several interviews in the past few weeks, which has taken up a good amount of time (in a good way, of course). And - although my wife may say otherwise - I *have* helped out more, as I now handle the food shopping duties (however, I'm told that I'm not a 'good' shopper, as I only buy what's on the list...I think that's the very definition of a good shopper.)

Yet, I'm still concerned that, when this has passed, and I'm in a new role, I'll look back on this time and regret not having accomplished even more. Is that foolish? Of course. I definitely recognize that people recommend NOT focusing entirely on the job search, but it's a definite conundrum -- when I'm not looking for a job (or doing something in that vein), I feel guilty; but, to not be accomplishing as many 'personal' things while I'm out of work, definitely feels like a missed opportunity.

In the end, though, I can most assuredly say that I *don't* have so much time on my hands. In fact, I have even less, now :)

The Career Showcase Job Fair - Where Can I Get the Kool Aid?

It was, truly, a job fair unlike any I'd been to before. I was astonished by the quality and diversity of the jobs being offered. In fact, I'd never actually received one offer at a job fair before; let alone three. My head was spinning from the decisions I needed to make -- which offer to accept?

The alarm went off, awaking me from my slumber. The job fair was actually several hours away. Nevertheless, I felt encouraged.

That would be short-lived.

The Career Showcase Job Fair promised an extensive collection of companies and positions. Apparently, most of the companies planning to be there with the non-financial sales positions bailed. In the spirit of Bill Simmons, here's the running diary of the event:

4:55pm: I walk in to the Huntington Hilton's Grand Ballroom. There are a great number of people here; but not as many as I would expect - I'd recently read stories of job fairs that had to close down early because two to three times as many attendees showed up. Here, the room is nearly half-full. I'm optimistic that this may turn out to be okay...I do end up sitting near an ex-colleague and we commisserate about the state of the job market.

5:00pm: Up first is the emcee for the evening - Henry Lesher...He's a career coach, who commits the fatal flaw of telling us that he's being paid to be there. Immediately, an awful lot of his credibility flies out the window. He explains that it's not that the best people get the best jobs, but "the people who appear to be best get the jobs."

5:10pm: Henry begins introducing the companies. This is a different kind of job fair. Rather than just letting me pop in and view the companies and determining there's nothing there for me, I have to listen to 2-4 minute 'commercials' from each company first.

The first to speak is Kim from Sleepys. She has inside sales professional positions available. She begins by asking "who has heard of Sleepys?" - the entire room raises their hands. She then talks about how the company is growing, and how her top salespeople made in excess of $100k last year. This will prove to be an effective template for the rest of the evening.

5:14pm: Dan from David Lerner, the first of the financial companies. They specialize in NOT JUST stocks, but also real estate and municipal bonds. In addition, even if you're not looking for an investment counselor position, they'll be happy to have you stop by their booth so they can assist you with your investment needs. They're good guys.

5:19pm: Chris from Carr Business Systems. I know this company, as their building is right next door to where I used to work. I would definitely work for them, and - potentially - they could use someone like me. Ah, they're only recruiting for outside sales representatives. I'm beginning to see a trend.

5:23pm: Alfredo from New York Life. I actually have a resume pending with this company for an employee communications associate. But, then I realize, Alfredo is not in the HR department; he's a partner. He is recruiting for - say it with me - sales positions. The company has been in business for 164 years and his top salespeople made $200k-plus, last year. Oh, and it helps if you're billingual.

5:27pm: Dan from Sears is next. He's quick and to the point. He also pulls the "Who has heard of Sears" trick - that is not even remotely effective this time. He's looking for outside sales. What are the odds? Irrelevant, anyway, as I haven't shopped at Sears since their service person threatened my wife in our backyard. Even more embarrasing for Sears -- I sent a letter outlining my displeasure with their service (which was horrible even without the physical threat; but, simply unforgiveable afterwards), and received no response. Clearly, not a choice organization.

5:31pm: Prudential is up next. They've been in business for 130 years, and his top salespeople made $1 million plus last year (the job fair has taken on all the atmosphere of a locker room, where each company is trying to figure out who is 'bigger.') This gentleman (didn't catch the name) - who, of course, is recruiting for financial services and financial sales - explains that "you're all salespeople, even if you're not in sales...your resume is your print ad; your interview is your commercial; and the product you're selling, is you!" He leans back smiling, satisfied with himself and his analogy. I choke back the vomit.

5:35pm: Tom, from US Remodels steps up next. He's a nice change from the suit-clad presenters so far. He explains that he works for Home Depot, and they handle garage organization, closet organization, etc. I'm encouraged that this will be a position other than sales (even though it won't be something I'm interested in); but no....he's looking for in-home sales representatives. Yawn.

5:39pm: John from Accent Advisors steps up - and doesn't seem to want to step down. He goes on, and on, and on, and on, and on. I lean to my friend next to me, and tell him the job fair needs to get their hands on the orchestra used by the Academy Awards. It's even worse, because he's recruiting financial services/financial advisors. I feel almost badly for these people, having to recruit for the same positions as ALL the companies prior to them. But, then, I remember I'm stuck there, and I feel worse for me.

5:47pm: Allison from Cablevision takes the microphone next. Interestingly, before and after each speaker spoke, there was applause from the audience. When Cablevision got up there, the welcoming applause was minimal. She, smartly, doesn't ask "who has Cablevision?" She's the first person not recruiting for sales -- instead, she's looking for call center customer service representatives (making the princely sum of $13 an hour). I look around the room -- easily, 95 percent of the attendees are 38 years of age or older. I wonder - do these job fair recruiters ever take the time to know their audience?

5:51pm: Dan (another one) from First Investors is recruiting for financial representatives and other professionals who "don't want to settle for a mediocre salary." He then explains his definition of a mediocre salary (translation, anything less than $100k). The world is a strange place.

5:55pm: Tina from PFP speaks next - she *knows* people don't know her company...she's looking for insurance sales representatives -- they work with credit unions in branches...but, it's still sales. So much so, that, after Tina talks, Henry (the emcee) explains that people visiting this job fair need to keep their minds open about the types of positions being offered at the fair.

5:59pm: Cambridge/Who's Who is up next, and Carolyn talks about the hours ("we work 9 to 5:30, Monday to Friday, with no weekends or evenings, so - if you want that, we can't help you" she says, attempting comedy) There's an outside chance this company could work for me - after all, it's writing, right? No....account directors (aka sales). We're getting down to the last few companies -- will anything make me not feel like I just blew nearly two hours of my life?

6:02pm: Jerry at 2020 Companies also explains that he knows no one knows his company - he handles Verizon direct sales. He starts his speech by stating, explicitly, "I have a lot of energy." His position is even less appealing than anyone else's -- 100 percent commission. If only I were a successful salesperson (what happened to the lengthy list of positions that would be at this fair?)

6:05pm: Chris at Northwestern Mutual can't even talk with a straight face. He's looking for financial professionals...but he doesn't want to keep people from getting into the exhibit hall ("since I know you all want your free pencils." - yeah, that's exactly the reason I'm here...)

6:10pm: Bill, representing AFLAC, gets up with a witty saying, "If you think we just do insurance, you don't know quack about AFLAC." I try to come up with three reasons why any of these people have jobs and I'm still unemployed. I fail.

With that, the 'corporate theatre' ends, and we move out to head to the exhibit hall. In a touching show of sympathy, we're led in curved lines...much like cows to a slaughterhouse, so we can't see the horror befalling those before us. I wish my friend luck (as he's off to talk with Carr), and I find two other members of my jobseeking group. We share our collective misery before heading off.

Besides the length of time invested, which was heartbreaking; my biggest regret was actually being forced to give one of my resumes to the organizers when I walked in. I only had good copies with me -- that was some nice paper, wasted.

A Brief Welcome

A few years ago, I had a blog on my personal website. It was a shared blog, with multiple authors, and it was entirely gaming-related.

I do plan on revamping that website, hopefully, sometime this year, but I had expected and wanted to include a personal blog on that site. So, eventually, this site and its posts, may be moved to the redesigned site (or, perhaps it will just be linked).

My primary purpose is to get back to writing and being immersed in social media. For this blog, I don't anticipate there being a "theme." Sometimes, my posts may revolve around my job search; or my boardgaming group; or something I find interesting about social media; or whatever pops into my head that day.