December 11, 2005
November 26, 2005
OPML sampling
Here’s an interesting post that I ran across from a couple of sources. Now which one do I credit? Or do I go right to the original?
Blogging with Flock is OK, but I hate the way it formats the sampled text from the item that I’m blogging about. Should I go back and reformat it, or should I just leave it as a plain citation? At the very least, I put in some underlining and line breaks.
OPML Sampling: Build a Page Showing the “Best� Item From Each RSS Feed
NOV262005
OPML files are a pretty general tool. However, one of their most common uses is to distribute a list of RSS feeds. I’ve got mine up (contains something like 200-250 feeds). They’re also popping up in blogging networks and as a way to share groups of related sites.
When I look at an OPML file, I often want to sample it: to see what the sites included are like. I don’t want to just import the whole thing, sight unseen into my feeds, or to visit each site, one at a time.
What I wanted was a way to see a “good� post from each feed to get a quick feel for it. So, when I couldn’t sleep last night (not feeling particularly well), I kept my mind busy writing a solution. You can see a sample of the output, which shows you the sampler for the Web 2.0 Workgroup’s OPML.