Blogs - February 2008

Below are the blog entries for February 2008

Everything You Need to Know About RSS

By Morgan Griffith

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 12:00pm

For those of you who frequent the “blogosphere,” you’re likely completely comfortable with the term RSS and understand the benefits of subscribing to RSS feeds. But for those of you who don’t read many blogs, or aren’t familiar with RSS technology and how it can save you TONS of time and effort when surfing the web, read on.

First of all, you may be wondering:

Why do I care about an RSS feed? Why would I want to use RSS?

Most of us surfing the web have anywhere from a handful to 30-40 sites we frequent regularly. Maybe you read CNN.com daily to get an update on the news, or maybe you’re looking for a new CMS and frequent CMSwatch.com; in any case, using RSS technology is the fastest and easiest way for you to quickly access new information on the websites you frequent most often and to be alerted when new content appears on your favorite websites. Instead of having to type in the URL of the site you are interested in, and browse each site for new content updates, and RSS feed takes all the most recent content from all of your favorite or specified sites, and aggregates them in a news-feed-esque manner. 

What is exactly is an RSS? How does it work?

RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication,’ and RSS feeds are based on XML . When a publisher publishes new content to the web that is available for subscription via an RSS, he/she publishes an RSS XML file known as a “feed.” These RSS feeds have a URL associated with them, and by subscribing to that URL, you are able to automatically receive notifications of updates from your favorite pages. RSS icons letting you know you can subscribe to a page or feed appear all over the Web in different forms; here’s just a sampling of some of the icons you may see:

 

Why shouldn’t I just bookmark my favorite pages?

Bookmarking web pages is helpful for sites you don’t frequently visit, but may want to save in case you need to visit them later to reference a favorite recipe or jot down an address. Using bookmarks for pages you may want to visit later, but don’t frequently change, is also helpful. However, if you are still using bookmarks to keep track of sites with frequently updated content such as blogs and news stories, STOP!  Bookmarking requires that you manually return to a page in your Bookmarks list on a regular basis, or when you remember, to find new articles and content updates. Instead, using an RSS feed for these pages allows you view new headlines and updates without even navigating to the page itself.

 OK, I get why an RSS feed is helpful. But how do I subscribe to one? Can I subscribe to any page?

There are a number of different ways you can subscribe to different pages and content. There are stand-alone RSS Feed Reader applications, web browser plug-ins such as Mozilla Firefox’s Live Bookmarks, and programs for many varieties of email programs such as, intraVnews for Outlook, which makes Outlook RSS feeds and allows for filtering, searching, and management of RSS feeds. However, many web surfers out there find it easiest to use free and fairly simple web-based RSS Feed Readers, such as Google Reader to get updates from their favorite sites.

Once you’ve set yourself up with an RSS Feed Reader, setting up which feeds you want to subscribe to is simple. The actual icons and steps may vary slightly depending upon which Feed Reader you’re using, but in most cases, you’ll need to navigate to the site you want content aggregated from (just once), and either:

1. Click on the RSS icon next to the URL of the page in your web browser or on the page itself:

Example 1: Mozilla Firefox -
Example 2: Internet Explorer - 

Example 3: Safari - 

2. Navigate to ‘Bookmarks’ and click ‘Subscribe to this Page’
3. Use your Feed Reader of choice and navigate to the ‘Add Feed’ option and enter the URL of the desired RSS

When you subscribe to an RSS feed, your Feed Reader will automatically and continually check that page for new content. Whenever there is new content, it will be displayed directly in your Feed Reader. RSS Feed Readers allow you to subscribe to the feeds of your choice from any variety of sites you would like.

Can I create RSS Feeds and use External RSS Feeds in Cascade?

Yes! Creating an RSS output in Cascade is exactly like creating any other output: You'll need to create a new target, destination, and template. You'll also need to attach an RSS stylesheet and include links between the individual templates. Additionally, Cascade Server allows for the inclusion of external RSS feeds in internally managed pages through the use of an XML Feed Block.

Conclusion

So now that you know the benefits of using an RSS and just how easy it is, go get started! If you’d like, you can start by subscribing to the Hannon Hill Team Blog! Either simply click the RSS icon in the browser next to our blog URL:

 

Or, manually add the Hannon Hill Team Blog! Feed URL to your Feed Reader: http://www.hannonhill.com/news/blog/rss.xml.

Category

• Resources

Meet the Team - Chris Armistead

By Morgan Griffith

Friday, February 15th, 2008 at 1:00pm

MORGAN GRIFFITH: Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Hannon Hill's 'Meet The Team.'  Today, we're here to welcome one of our newest team members, Chris Armistead, who joins us a Product Coordinator.  How's it going, Chris?

CHRIS ARMISTEAD:  It's going well, thanks.  Just getting into the swing of things here.

MORGAN: Tell me, what exactly is a Product Coordinator anyway?

CHRIS:  Well, it's going to mean a little of everything.  Basically working with our marketing team, engineering team, as well as our clients to make sure Cascade Server is the best CMS product available.

MORGAN: How did you get into doing something like this?

CHRIS:  It definitely wasn't a straight line.  I graduated from the University of Georgia with a journalism degree in Telecommunication Arts.  Initially, I worked installing data lines, then as an independent courier in Atlanta, after that as a project coordinator for a huge law firm downtown, and my last job was as a prospector and email communications writer for an online B2B tech directory.  This is the first job I've ever had that actually made sense following the job before it.  I discovered my passion for emerging media and it led me here.

MORGAN:  Wow, so what has been your impression of Hannon Hill so far?

CHRIS:  It's a very dynamic environment.  As you can see, I don't mind change.  In fact, I can't stand being in a rut and I love working in a place where no two days are the same, and everyone works hard without having to punch a clock.

MORGAN: What has been the biggest change since your last position?

CHRIS:  The surroundings!  I love the asymmetrical layout of this space, the bright colors and unique shapes of the rooms and offices.  My last office was a cubicle farm in a large rectangular room.  In my opinion, less predictable surroundings help foster less predictable ideas.

MORGAN: Sounds like you're excited to be here.

CHRIS:  Definitely excited.  I have worked in the suburbs and worked in the very urban surroundings of downtown, but this is my first time working in Buckhead so I am enthused for the new experience.

MORGAN: How does this area stack up so far?

CHRIS:  Well this area is where I live and really where I consider home.  I enjoyed working downtown, but this is much easier to navigate.  Plus the office has a spectacular view of the skyline so it's not like you feel that far from the city.  As for the suburbs, if I never go back there, I won't shed a tear.

MORGAN: So what's one thing your coworkers don't know about you yet?

CHRIS:  We have a ping pong table here and I haven't had the opportunity to play yet, but I am really dominant at ping pong.  I feel a little bad saying this since I don't how good anyone else is here, but it's a pretty safe bet I will destroy them regardless of how good they think they are.

MORGAN: That sounds like an open challenge to all Hannon Hillians.  Thanks for stopping by, Chris, and thanks to everybody out there for checking out this edition of Meet the Team at Hannon Hill.  See you next time.

Category

• News

Cascade Server Knowledge Base Redesign

By Morgan Griffith

Friday, February 8th, 2008 at 2:30pm

I’ve held off on posting a blog related to this topic for quite some time, but now that our official Knowledge Base Redesign is underway, I thought I’d share a few things with all of our Cascade users and prospects. The vastness and enormity of documentation on Cascade Server is evident. I’m sure all of you who currently use our Knowledge Base as a means to answer FAQs or to look up system requirements and features are aware of this. As our system and its functionality have continued to grow based on your needs, suggestions, and requests, so too has the amount of documentation describing it.

As we are planning for continued growth for both our product and company, we are also planning on the growth of our Knowledge Base and the documentation within it.  The plethora of information available on Cascade and the bits and pieces that come together to form our CMS is expansive; and in an effort to improve the usability of our Knowledge Base, we’re changing things up a bit.

...Knowledge Base Redesign:

Currently, when you enter the Knowledge Base, it is clear that content is divided into seven main categories: Install, Users, Admin, Advanced, Videos, Glossary, and Past Versions. System Administrators who use Cascade frequently are familiar enough with the system to intuitively navigate to the locations of most items they need. However, because with every new release of Cascade we are aiming to make the system as easy as possible for the least technically-savvy user, our goals with the KB Redesign are the same. We are aiming to make it as easy, intuitive, and quick as possible to find any piece of information about Cascade you may be looking for.

So, without giving too much away, all the content in our new Knowledge Base is going to stem from four basic ‘sections’:

Digest

The digest will feature a brief glossary-esque summary of every concept in Cascade. So, let’s say you’re a university professor and aren’t particularly interested in how assets make up Cascade, but you’d like to know what assets are and how you can use them to create your course web site or catalog – the Digest is for you!

Content-Conceptual

If after reading our Digest summary of Assets, you’re compelled to learn more and want to proceed to learn more about each type of Asset, you can proceed to our Content/conceptual section to find more of a discussion/explanation of the roles Assets play in Cascade, insight into the different types of Assets, and the like.

Content-Technical

For those users more interested in the technical steps involved with Cascade, such as how to create an Asset, page, stylesheet, etc., the Content/technical area of the KB is populated with pages, diagrams, descriptions, and steps to aid you in creating, editing, and managing your web content. If we revisit the previous example, the university professor who previously wanted to find a general summary of assets, is now able to navigate to the technical side of our Content section and create an index page for his course, add images and links to resources, and publish a page to his/her organization’s site.

Context

For the system administrators, consultants, developers, and more technically-savvy individuals using or prospecting Cascade, we present the Context section. The Context section of our new KB Redesign will feature one over-arching project that incorporates all of the fundamentals, concepts, and technical steps you have previously visited in the Digest and Content sections of the KB. This section puts all the information you’ve learned into Context by providing a real-world hands on example project to practice/demo creating and managing web content in Cascade. There will also be a version of the Context section available for business users; it will provide a more conceptual version of the step-by-step guide to completing our example project.

If you’re ever unable to find the information you’re looking for in our new KB, we are also improving our search functionality to enhance result relevancy, accuracy, and order when searched for.

We’re confident that the steps we’re taking with the Cascade Knowledge Base Redesign will make finding any information you need relevant to Cascade simple and easy. We have numerous ideas to incorporate with our four preliminary sections that will serve to provide the most comprehensive, intuitive, and fluid CMS Knowledge Base in the industry. We welcome your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback as to how we can even further improve your user experience with Cascade and our Knowledge Base.

The KB Redesign is expected to be completed and available via the Hannon Hill Web Site at the start of the 2^nd quarter this year. We hope you’re as excited as we are about this Redesign; be sure to check our Team Blog frequently for KB-related updates.

Category

• Resources

Using a Content Management System to Keep Up With Fast-Paced Products - A Guide for the Less-Than-Tech-Expert

By Laura Folio

Friday, February 1st, 2008 at 3:30pm

I recently joined the Hannon Hill team and most of my previous marketing experience required very little technical skill beyond email. One of my first projects was to begin updating the online Knowledge Base for one of our product lines. This meant modifying a substantial amount of information on our website and even building some new pages. Having to edit and create my own web content was a pretty intimidating task. However, part of the process of updating our own website involves using our very own CMS product, Cascade Server. Once I was introduced to the fundamentals of Cascade, I realized making the updates myself wouldn't be as hard as I had imagined.

I'm sure many of you out there are faced with a similar dilemma. For most technically unsaavy folks out there who are more frequently browsing web content then creating it, the thought of updating a web site or building a new page may be overwhelming. If the products or services your company offers are anything like ours and constantly shifting and adapting to new trends, your team is also constantly striving to stay on-top of the content and message your site is presenting. Yet, for many busy IT departments in companies across the country, updating the company website with each new tip and trick discovered is not a top priority. This can lead to customers with lots of questions, or even lost sales because product updates are not being communicated in a timely manner.

Whether you're an IT expert or not, a user-friendly CMS can make it easy to perform updates yourself, with little or no knowledge of the more technical skills involved in creating a website. (I can attest!) By managing these updates within your department, you can be sure to have the most up-to-date information available for your customers and avoid the IT bottleneck. So, just how does Cascade Server make keeping up with your website so easy?

Familiar Interface

Cascade Server uses a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor that is similar to a basic word processor. Users are able to format their text and see how it will appear without any HTML coding. Inserting images and links takes just a few clicks of a button. It's also painless to create a copy of your page - so you can simply change the content and keep the same layout, making the process of creating new and consistent pages less of a headache.

Minimal Learning Curve

As I mentioned above, our CMS uses a functional layout that you are already familiar with. Because of this, it's simple for multiple users across departments to get the hang of the system. This means you won't need endless training sessions and tutorials to get moving. Hannon Hill also offers an extensive online knowledge base and great support from real, live humans when you do need some extra help.

Central Organization

Cascade Server allows your company to store everything in one place instead of spreading it across multiple servers. Permission levels for different user groups makes it easy to ensure that everyone has access only to the appropriate content. This allows updates to be made across the organization by subject matter experts. The templates and formatting keep everyone's work looking consistent. Because Cascade Server is web-based, employees who travel frequently or telecommute can have access to the system at all times, making time sensitive updates a breeze.

Version Control

If you're not ready to go live, your CMS ensures that you can save your work without publishing it. You can also preview your content right in the Cascade Server interface. If you hit publish a little too quickly, don't panic -- version control allows you to restore your previous page with the click of a button. In fact, a CMS can save all of the previous versions of your page, neatly displaying when and by whom the last updates were made.

Easy Approvals

When you delegate work to other members of the team, it can be hard to keep up with who is assigned to what project and monitor progress. In Cascade, Workflow Managment makes sure that all content runs through the appropriate checks and balances before going live. Additionally, the Audits and Reporting function makes allows the administrator or department head to quickly view all user activity on the system and keep abreast of all updates being made.

So bypass the IT department next time you need to make up update. Trust me, it will help you stay on their good side for when you really DO need their help.

Category

• Commentary

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