Automatic Notification when Articles are Published

Most of us do not have time to constantly browse the internet to find all the good information we need.  I surely would not expect you to check our website daily or weekly for new articles.  That is not realistic.  So how do you know when something of interest is written?

RSS Feeds and Twitter to the Rescue!

Confused about RSS Feeds and Twitter? So was I until our resident Tech Guru (Geek) got me started. And now I love having them!

If you want to be notified by a very short message each time we post a new informative article instead of having to constantly jump on the L.E. Cooke website to check, then use the RSS Feed or Twitter to be notified.

What you use all depends upon how you use your computer and what programs you use most often.  I always have Outlook open, so I like to be notified by email.  Others live in their internet browser and use it to be notified.  Here are some ways to set these things up:

RSS FEEDS

I like RSS to send me an email when something is published that I am interested in.

1) If you are using Outlook 2007, here is a great article by Microsoft that explains RSS Feed fully: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HA012304631033.aspx.   On Outlook 2007, this is really simple to set up and use.

2) If you are using Outlook 2003 or earlier, here is a free downloadable program that I use to make it work just like Outlook 2007: http://rsspopper.blogspot.com/2004/10/home.html

When you click on our RSS button (right side of every page) it gives you a new RSS Feed page with this URL address at the top:

http://www.lecooke.com/cms/index.php?option=com_myblog&task=rss

Just copy this address into the Outlook RSS link settings and Outlook will automatically find new content and let you know by email when something new is published.

Alternately, there are free Vista Sidebar gadgets or free Google gadgets that will monitor your RSS Feed links and display them on your desktop when something new is published. They work well too, except when I have too many programs open to see anything on my desktop.

There are a lot of other ways to read RSS Feeds – some right inside your browser. It all depends upon what you use most often. More help can be found here: http://www.whatisrss.com/.

TWITTER

Twitter is very easy. First sign up for your own Twitter account at www.twitter.com. It is free and only needs your email address and a password that you make up.

Once you are signed in to your Twitter account, just click on the L.E. Cooke Twitter button (right side of every page) and our Twitter page opens up. Click on the “Follow” button and you will be connected and notified each time an article is published. Each “Tweet” is a maximum of 140 characters so you are not buried in reading. If you are interested in the topic, follow it to the article.

You can follow your Twitter feeds by using your web browser and looking at your Twitter account page. I don’t like remembering to go to my Twitter page with my browser, so I again use a Vista Sidebar Gadget or Google Gadget to place the notifications right on my desktop – right below the RSS Feed notices.

If still confused, give me a call at L.E. Cooke and I will be happy to guide you through it.  Why will I do this?  Because I think you will like what we post and I want you connected.        Ron Ludekens - President