By Jenna Moore, STC Carolina Public Relations Manager

STC Carolina is starting a new RSS newsfeed! Subscribers to the newsfeed will be alerted to the latest Web site updates, meeting reminders, event updates, chapter updates and more up to the minute details. The newsfeed is available to everyone, members and nonmembers alike. We encourage all STC Carolina members and anyone who is interested in STC Carolina to subscribe.

What is This RSS Newsfeed Thing?

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is the latest method for picking up news quickly. You can use RSS newsfeeds to distribute a list of headlines or updates, learn the latest news from your favorite sites, and cut down on your Web browsing time.

Traditionally, Web surfers have gone to each Web site of interest to find the latest change or update. This activity can take hours if you have a lot of interests. Using an RSS newsreader, you can subscribe to the newsfeed for each of your favorite sites and have the headlines delivered to your newsreader. When you subscribe, all your headlines are displayed in one place, making your surfing time much shorter.


Even though the number of newsfeeds you can subscribe to is virtually limitless, your inbox isn't swamped. That's because the updates are sent to your newsreader. You decide when you want to check your newsfeed—no pushy emails to fill up your inbox!

Who's Using It

Many top companies use newsfeeds to distribute their news. Microsoft, ESPN, the NFL, STC, and Warner Brothers are just a few of the companies that have embraced this technology. You can find newsfeeds about almost any topic out there from Harry Potter to the Astronomy picture of the day.

What to Expect from the STC Carolina Newsfeed

The STC newsfeed is likely to be much more active than the announcements list has been in the past. It will include meeting reminders, Web site updates, program changes, training announcements, event announcements, and more. Don't worry—the announcements mailing list is not going away! We will still be sending out our monthly announcements via email for those who prefer that format or might even like to have both.

How to Get Started

To subscribe to the newsfeed, you need an RSS reader or news reader. The three most popular online tools are Bloglines, MyYahoo, and the Firefox Web browser. We recommend using one of these tools if you don't already have a favorite. You can read an overview of how to subscribe to each one on the STC Carolina Web site.

Other readers, including stand-alone and email-based readers that import the headlines to your inbox, are also available. For more information about readers and RSS, download the July presentation from the STC Carolina Web site. If you're just getting started with RSS, the online readers are the simplest to use and you can use them to access your news from just about any Internet-enabled workstation.

A Few Feeds to Start

Don't forget you can also read the STC International newsfeed too, by entering the URL http://www.stc.org/newsfeed.xml into your newsreader! Stay up to date with all the latest information from all your STC resources.

Want to keep up on the latest from Macromedia? Check out http://weblogs.macromedia.com/notifications/ for the right newsfeed URL for your favorite products. Send us your favorite RSS feed and we'll add them to our list of available resources.

Check out the latest information from Microsoft by selecting a newsfeed for one of their technologies at http://www.msdn.microsoft.com/aboutmsdn/rss/.


Jenna Moore can be reached at pr at stc-carolina dot org.