I was impressed with how the presentation in my last post was able to simply explain social media. The thing that remains less than simple, however, is RSS (which stands for, oddly enough, “Really Simple Syndication”). Simple it is not.  RSS is one of the technical bits of glue that makes social media run behind the scenes.  We may know it most commonly as a news feed or a feed from a blog that we can read via a feed reader (or aggregator) such a Google Reader, but really these are not easy for the average person to understand or fully implement without some explanation. Without that basic understanding it is difficult to go beyond this to understanding other uses of RSS and help to explain them.

This issue is raised in the video below from the Vascellari Media Channel, in which the prolific Andrea Vascellari interviews Hessu Järvinen and Erkka Piirainen of Finland about how to get started in social media. They point out that at one time people didn’t understand what use instant messaging (or IM) had when we already have telephones and email, and it is just a matter of time for us to come to understand the use RSS holds for us.

I like how they sum things up: Hessu says “be open minded” and Erkka says to “demand more of the developers”. If you don’t understand how to use something, it may not be your fault; it may be a design flaw. Thus the importance of user experience (or UX) professionals!

One person who is particularly good at explaining RSS is my friend Steve Matthews over at Stem Legal Consulting (full disclosure: I sometimes do work for Stem Legal). I try to follow all he posts on his Law Firm Web Strategy blog about RSS and am trying to learn as much as I can from him.

But, aside from all of us explaining RSS to the uninitiated and creating webpages, widgets and other things using RSS without identifying it as such, is there a way to make RSS easier?

This Thursday I will be facilitating a roundtable discussion at the next Toronto Girl Geek Dinners. I have been attending meetings of this group for about a year, and have found them to be very collegial. It is a fantastic group of interesting women from a range of industries. The group also encourages younger members by having a number of students sponsored for the evening.

Usually we have a speaker, but the group has gotten so comfortable with one another that we thought an opportunity for us to talk with one another would be a nice change of pace. Inspiration for the discussion:

The ability to do sustained innovation is the one competitive edge left. Innovation is the driver of performance, growth and stock market valuation.” - Bruce Nussbaum, 10 Worst Innovation Mistakes in A Recession (Business Week)

The details:

Toronto Girl Geek Dinner #9
November 20, 2008
Hot House Cafe at 7:00 p.m.
Sign up on the wiki

The 9th Toronto Girl Geek Dinner, sponsored by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, will feature a discussion about how we, as leaders in our respective areas of technology, can continue to innovate during tough economic times.

Some of the topics we will cover include taking smart risks, using a downturn as a catalyst for innovation, finding a solid strategy, and the opportunities for people inside organizations and for entrepreneurs.

To wrap up our Toronto Girl Geek Dinners for 2008, PricewaterhouseCoopers has graciously agreed to pick up the tab for everyone’s dinner. We all thank them for their generosity are thrilled to have them on-board and participating in our event!

Audience member extraordinaire Kenley Neufeld helped me out by recording my session via 12Seconds.tv, and we showed this in class for the full immediacy effect:

Plugging 12seconds @ Internet Librarian on 12seconds.tv

And this is the Seesmic video I recorded to show the class how fast this is:
Demo - Internet LibrarianThis was my demo live!
More presentations from Internet Librarian 2008 are being posted on Slideshare under IL2008.

Here is where you can catch me the next few weeks:

Internet Librarian - Monterey, California
Monday, October 20, 2008
4:15 PM – 5:00 PM

Instant Audio & Video: Tools Igniting the Digital World

• Connie Crosby, Principal, Crosby Consulting Group

No time to learn how to podcast or make videos? Seesmic, Utterli, ooVoo, BlogTV, Qik, and Talkshoe are just a few of the new audio and video tools letting people create their own instant web content with a small learning curve. Some are meant for short, quick thoughts by individuals on the go, others for longer conversations among a group connected to the web. Compare these exciting new tools and discuss their roles in community building and collaboration.

Internet Librarian - Monterey, California
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
3:15 PM – 4:00 PM

Law Library 2.0

• Camille Reynolds MLS, Director, Research & Information Services, Nossaman LLP
• Liana Juliano, Technical & Electronic Services Librarian, Nossaman LLP Vice President/President Elect American Indian Library Association
• Connie Crosby, Principal, Crosby Consulting Group
• Jaye Lapachet, Manager of Library Services, Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP

How do you introduce 2.0 technologies into the law firm library? Law firms are notoriously slow in adopting new technologies and are often steeped in the traditional. In the first presentation, learn how creative law librarians spearheaded a project to create a firm intranet in a culture that doesn’t embrace technology or sharing easily. Working with several other departments the speakers bridged the gap between many different user groups with competing ideas and helped lead the change through collaboration as they introduced the law firm to new technologies. They share how they used focus groups, marketing, and involved key users to “sell” the intranet, first to management, then to staff; what tools were used to create buy-in; and the strategies that were involved, as well as experiences with an internal wiki as a project management tool for the intranet and a way to introduce library staff to 2.0 technologies in a user-friendly format that spawned other uses, including collaboration, policy development, resource sharing, training, and more. Drawing from her experience as a law firm library director, Crosby provides additional examples and describes where law libraries are headed next.

Sustainability Camp - Toronto, Ontario
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Using social networking tools to promote community [tentative title]
“Community Divas” Eden Spodek & Connie Crosby

Ottawa, Ontario
November 17  or 18, 2008 - 2 full-day classes available
Social Networking Tools - Hands on Learning
Professional Learning Centre, Faculty of Information, University of Toronto
Connie Crosby, Instructor
–>the Monday, November 17th class is either full or almost full. We have added a second date.