RSS and PodcastsWhat Is FirstGov.gov Doing?

RSS, Blog and Podcast WorkshopNOAA, February 21, 2006

Joanne McGovernWeb Content ManagerFirstGov.govjoanne.mcgovern@gsa.gov

RSS What Is FirstGov.gov Doing?

• Created page “What Is RSS?”

• Created Government RSS Library

• Created two feeds from FirstGov.gov

• Share How To’s and Best Practices on webcontent.gov

What Is RSS?

What Is RSS Page

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/RSS_Library/What_Is_RSS.shtml

RSS Library

RSS Library

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/RSS_Library.shtml

FirstGov.gov RSS Feeds1. FirstGov.gov Updates

• Same content as sent out via e-mail alerts• Frequency depends on how frequently site updates

2. Popular Government Questions• Uses the content from our FAQs (faq.gov)• Have 2,000 Q & A’s to choose from• Chose 170 of likely interest to RSS user

demographic• Post several a week• Will send by monthly themes (this month: Money)

FirstGov.gov RSS Feeds

FirstGov.gov RSS Feeds

• http://www.firstgov.gov/rss

FirstGov.gov Updates RSS Feed

Popular Government Questions RSS Feed

FirstGov.gov RSS Feeds

• They bring traffic to other government websites. We are pointing to your information.

• FirstGov.gov Updates are usually a link to another site

• FirstGov FAQs contain answers with referrals to other agencies for more detail

Webcontent.gov

Lessons Learned

• It is very inexpensive to add RSS feeds to your site

• The real work is in the content—delivering quality and regular content that is of interest to your audiences

• Consider how you re-use content via various channels

PodcastsWhat Is FirstGov.gov Doing?

• Government Podcast Library• Working with Podcast directories (iTunes,

Yahoo!, Podcast Alley, Podcast.net, Odeo, Podnova, PodSpider) to promote government Podcasts

• Working on creating FirstGov.gov podcasts (audio and video)

• Webcontent.gov—sharing How To’s and Best Practices

Government Podcasts Library

Government Podcast Library

http://www.firstgov.gov/Topics/Reference_Shelf/Libraries/Podcasts.shtml

Webcontent.gov

Add Your RSS Feeds and Podcasts to FirstGov’s Library

• Visit http://www.firstgov.gov• Click “Contact Us”, or• Click “Suggest-a-Link”

• E-mail me directly: joanne.mcgovern@gsa.gov