I previously wrote a blog post about how I have been using RSS feeds to stay current on the news. The majority of the feeds that I subscribe to are news and blogs, but there are a few that don’t fall under either of these categories that I have found to be useful.
- Tweets of a few individuals. I follow about 200 people on Twitter and I can’t log in to Twitter enough times to keep up with every single tweet of the people I follow every day. However, there are those among the Twitter users I follow who share great information and I don’t want to miss any of their tweets. It’s easy to add a Twitter timeline to Google Reader (which I use to read RSS feeds). Copy the Twitter user’s URL (for example, http://twitter.com/whe97007), click on the “add a subscription” button and paste the URL in the box that appears.
- Twitter searches for certain words and hashtags. Using Twitter Advanced Search, I created RSS feeds for tweets from Las Vegas, Nevada, that include the words CPA, accountant, tax, or QuickBooks. I have found a few interesting people to follow and some potential business opportunities. For example, a tweet saying “next year I think I’ll have to invest in a good tax accountant” caught my attention and I contacted that Twitter user. The only drawback to subscribing to these feeds is that I have to sift through a lot of unimportant tweets like “I just got my tax refund so now I can buy that HDTV!”
- LinkedIn Network Updates. LinkedIn is a great site for professional networking, but I don’t visit it daily. I use RSS as a more efficient way to see what my connections are up to. Occasionally, I notice that one of my connections connects to someone I know, who I then connect to as well. You can get RSS feeds within the LinkedIn account settings.
- Notifications for new downloads. For example, I subscribe to the RSS feed of the CPA Technology Advisor to know when a new podcast is available for download.
- YouTube channels. In particular, I enjoy the YouTube channel for K2 Enterprises, which provides technology tips for CPAs. Thanks to RSS, I am alerted when a new video is available to view.
If you have any ideas for using RSS feeds, please share them by leaving a comment in the box below.
Hi Dustin, I have become a fan of your blog posts. I have found them both interesting and informative. There is so much to learn and so few hours in the day. I have not gotten on board with twitter though I have thought about it (time). I did join LinkedIn a few months back and have found the groups to be full of helpful information. I too am a fan of the CPA Technology Advisor it is over flowing with great stuff. I checked out K2 Enterprises on YouTube and it is just the kind of thing I like to subscribe to. Thanks for pointing it out.
Thanks Janett! It means a lot to me to know you find my blog helpful. I will write an article in the near future about my experience with Twitter and hopefully give you some ideas.
Dustin. Great content my friend and thanks so much for the share. RSS feed has help me organize my online followings for a long time now but it never occured to me to use it to follow a specific twitter user – good one. Got to check out the K2 channel – I’m sure it’s good stuff coming from you. Have a good one friend.