If you are like me and are desperately trying to keep up with enough
technology to avoid "dinosaur" status, I'd like to help you
access a useful tool. You may have heard about RSS before but
didn't know its merits. I would like to give you a brief
description of why using this feature of the internet will save you
time and give you access to more information.
What is RSS? Bob Welch in a recent Register Guard article
provided one of the best explanations. "RSS ... which
stands for Really Simple Syndication, is the most ill-suited name
since "Efficient Government." The only way I could grasp its
actual function was when instructor Caroline Cummings compared it to
Netflix as opposed to Blockbuster Video. (Instead of going out for
information, the info is delivered to you.)"
This is probably the greatest thing about RSS. It brings
information to you when you want to view it. You don't have to
search for it. For example, if you want to know when a new
article is posted on the oregontrackclub.org website, RSS will inform
you something new is there and you can check it when you want.
You don't have to remember to check the website and then wonder if
you missed an earlier posting.
To activate RSS subscribe to a free reader that does the work for
you. There are a number of readers including ones like Google
and Safari that work with your browser. The addresses for these
two are below. There are also other RSS readers like
NewsGator and FeedReader which provide the same service. You
sign up and tell it what sites on the internet you want to know when a
new article is posted. It's fast, it's free, and it saves
you the time of going to different sites to check yourself.
Why am I suggesting to do this? We
would like to see the OTC site read by as many people as possible.
If you want to get timely updates on new articles posted to our site,
subscribing to an RSS reader is the way to go. After subscribing
click on all or some of the OTC sites below to be reminded when a new
article appears.
So here are some sites that you can check out to find out more about
that little icon you see on so many websites lately: the blue or
orange RSS rectangle. Going to the Safari website (that's my
browser) and following the steps to be told whenever a new article is
posted to oregontrackclub.org was relatively easy.
I hope this information is useful to those who haven't joined the
RSS generation of computer users. It's a tool that improves,
rather than adds to your already busy life.
General Information - http://www.whatisrss.com/
Safari RSS - http://osxhelp.com/understanding-rss-in-safari/
Google Chrome RSS -
https://chrome.google.com/extensions/detail/nlbjncdgjeocebhnmkbbbdekmmmcbfjd
Available OTC RSS feeds
Oregon Track Club - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=g&id=217
OTC Elite - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=g&id=5
OTC Masters - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=g&id=220
Pre Classic - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=e&id=120
Butte to Butte - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=e&id=126
All-Comers - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=e&id=158
Hayward Classic - http://www.runnerspace.com/rss.php?t=e&id=228