Today I want to share a little bit of web advice, in the form of RSS feeds and how to use them in Compensation & Benefits.
What is an RSS feed and how to use it ?
RSS feeds allow you to stay up to date with the latest news and updates from your favourite blogs and websites.
You can subscribe to a RSS feed in a number of ways, including the following:
- Click on the orange RSS button (like the one in the top of the right column on this blog) and confirm that you want to subscribe to this feed
- Drag the orange RSS button into your News Reader
- Drag the URL of the RSS feed into your News Reader
- Cut and paste the URL of the RSS feed into your News Reader
How to get a News Reader ? This one is easy. For example, if you have a gmail account, or Yahoo, or any other email from a large provider (even in Outlook), you can easily get the associated free News Reader. For example in gmail, once you’re into your email account, at the top of the page, you will find it under “More” and can activate it.
What are the advantages of setting up your News Reader and feeding it through RSS ?
Well, first you don’t have to go and visit each website that you are interested in individually. So it saves you time.
It also delivers instantly the latest news so it is constantly fresh and up-to-date.
In short the News Reader is where you create your own, special “magazine”, updated with the content that you are interested in.
So what does this have to do with Compensation & Benefits ?
Well, one thing you can do for a start is to subscribe to the feed from Compensation Insider ;-). This way, even if you don’t have time to go check my blog 3 times a week, the posts are delivered to you and you won’t miss out.
You can also explore the blogs I mention in my blogroll (again – in the column on the right), and subscribe to those that you find most relevant to you.
You can follow the news sent out by the consultants in the reward, recognition, performance management, HRIS, or relocation industries and see what the latest developments are.
You can follow news related to the legal and tax environment in your country, so that you are not taken by surprise when some changes take place.
You can also create categories in your Reader, for other topics. You can decide to subscribe to general HR websites and other sites, from example from the providers that you deal with.
Maybe you also want to follow on the trade association and networking events for your industry, including your company’s main competitors.
I know for a fact that I have gotten some of my most advanced knowledge of the latest news and trends in Compensation & Benefits thanks to my regular reading of the feeds I have selected for my Reader. This is how I curate the content that I share at the end of every month in the Share the Knowledge post.
This is a great way to keep informed, and keep a competitive edge inside my company as I maintain my knowledge for free, and in a few minutes every day. I don’t read every post that goes through my Reader, but thanks to it, I am sure that I am not missing on any big, relevant info.
So if you don’t have a News Reader yet, please set it up. It is easy, free, takes less than one minute and once you get the hang of it, you will never look back !
Speak Your Mind