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Using RSS feeds to aggregate people

Submitted by craig.kirchoff on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 21:14
in

Everyone should know more about stuff like Yahoo Pipes. I use it to get my content out in new and innovative waysTM and also to get content out of static sites into an easily digested RSS format. Craig has been a real pioneer in showing the way. -Patrick

I’ve been thinking that if we create RSS feeds and websites that focus on specific aspects of the conservative movement, we might be able to unite and mobilize better.

For example, I’ve used Yahoo Pipes and other web services to create an RSS feed that pulls together the YouTube videos of the Cato Institute, The Club for Growth, Friends of Americans for Tax Reform, ReasonTV and the Tax Foundation. I’m hoping that supporters of one organization may find the messages of the others interesting – uniting the fiscally conservative community on the web a bit further.

For those comfortable with an RSS feed reader, you can find the feed of the videos here. 

I also used the feed to create a self-updating webpage which I’ve embedded in a offensively basic, crude, caveman-esque framed webpage I called the Limited Government Network

(try to just judge the content, if you can.  Not the presentation)
 
I have two goals in posting this: First, is the hope that fiscal conservatives will find this resource, and use it. 
 
Secondly, I’m soliciting ideas for similar feeds. What would you find useful? It can be composed of data, blog posts, video – almost anything you find on the web. Race-specific news feeds?  Raw data feeds?
 
Let me know in the comments.

 

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Comments

I Roll My Own Pipes...

Submitted by hpb on Tue, 07/15/2008 - 23:54.

...but I'm with ya.

pipe request

Submitted by lnewcomer on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 01:00.

can you use pipes to eliminate duplicate items in certain feeds (e.g. NYTimes seems to repeat the same item several times daily when the feed refreshes)?

LGN Great Idea

Submitted by Keith_Indy on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 07:44.

The Limited Government Network is a great idea.  I think you could add channels onto it to narrow the focus.

Lower Taxes

Spending Reduction

Waste/Fraud

Attacks on Civil Liberties

Foreign Policy

Action Alerts

Parody

Oh, and I've always been of the mind (being a software developer) to 1st make it work, then make it pretty.  So I'd say you're right on target for just starting.

Amen

Submitted by Tom Readmond on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 15:46.

The content is more important.  I like a nice looking site as much as the next guy, but I find I'm frequently frustrated (not just on the Web, but in the world in general) by the focus on cuteness cluttering my quest for quick, concise and specific information.

I appologize if I'm being

Submitted by belnumcree on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 08:18.

I appologize if I'm being ignorant. (I've only recently started using RSS feeds.) But when I try to use the feed in the link here, it says "No Results". I've tried also using the feed URL in my Feed Reader and nothing there either. Am I doing something wrong? *

Belnumcree...

Submitted by craig.kirchoff on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 13:41.

 

Sorry you're having some trouble there. It could be a glitch either with the pipe or the reader. Here is a link the pipe's direct page. You can output it in all kinds of ways and subscribe to some readers there. It might be the best place to get your reader and the pipe to play nice.
Thanks for taking the time to check it out.

Thank you

Submitted by belnumcree on Thu, 07/17/2008 - 10:15.

That helped. Got it working now.

That is cool... Good thing is

Submitted by Keith_Indy on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 13:48.

That is cool...

Good thing is you can see the source to see how it was created.  Now I just have to get this internet thing at home...

Elections Video Search

Submitted by Cerebral Alpha on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 15:56.

I haven't tried to make a Pipe out of this yet. But google now has something called Elections Video Search which allows you to search the text of a political speech on Youtube.

This could come in very handy I would think. I will work on it some more when I have time.

Fundraising/Organizing Applications

Submitted by Tom Readmond on Wed, 07/16/2008 - 16:00.

This might be outside the scope of what you're trying to accomplish with LGN (or even RSS generally), but I'd like to see something that tells me in simple terms about candidates I might want to support financially or otherwise according to specific ideological and/or demographic criteria.  I'm sure there are lots of great candidates out there who aren't getting any exposure, but might be successful if they had a little more money and interest.  But most of us never hear about them. 

Slatecard kind of gets into the ballpark, but I've never seen anything that tells me "If you like this guy, you'll like this other guy," or lets me plug in what I might be looking for in a candidate (i.e. "under 40, low taxes, supports entitlement reform" etc).