September 26, 2005

Purdue Agriculture offers RSS feeds

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Every day, faculty and staff in Purdue University's College of Agriculture and Purdue Extension share information about topics like scientific research, business development, economics and farming. Now people from around the world have a new way to tap into that information.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds from Purdue Agriculture offer headlines and links to the latest news from Purdue, including announcements about workshops, stories about scientific breakthroughs and tips of the trade for business owners.

"Purdue Agriculture has a tradition of using the latest technologies to get information to the people who need it," said Chris Sigurdson, head of the Department of Agricultural Communication. "This is one more way for us to help people tap into the university's expertise."

RSS allows users to receive headlines about topics they've chosen without the hassle of spam messages or visiting several Web sites every day, said Sigurdson. "A lot of people look to Purdue Extension for unbiased, science-based information. This is another convenient way for them to get that information."

Purdue Agriculture's RSS feeds are maintained by the Department of Agricultural Communications. In addition to the feeds already in place, the department is developing monthly feeds about gardening, insects and public policy.

Mike Atwell, a Web instructional designer, said the RSS feeds are free and do not require registration.

"We're not collecting information about you when you sign up for these feeds," he said. "And the feeds only send out information that you've asked for, so you won't get a lot of unwanted messages."

As part of the RSS feed service, Web developers may also display Purdue Agriculture headlines on their Web sites in a list format.

"The headline list allows businesses to have Purdue headlines right on their Web sites. It's another way for people to have a connection with the research and science coming out of Purdue," Atwell said. Information about installing the "headline list" on other Web pages is available at the Purdue Agriculture RSS news site.

To receive RSS feeds from Purdue Agriculture go online. The feeds require the installation of a computer program known as an RSS "reader" or "aggregator."

Atwell said there are many of these programs available, some free of charge. Lists of RSS readers are available through Google, Yahoo and other search engines.

Writer: Kay Hagen, (765) 494-6682, kjh@purdue.edu

Sources: Chris Sigurdson, (765) 494-8396, sig@purdue.edu

Mike Atwell, (765) 494-8400, maatwell@purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722;
Beth Forbes, forbes@purdue.edu
Agriculture News Page

Related Web site:
Purdue Agriculture News site

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