Our team is very excited to release policyIQ version 6.4, and I'm excited to finally be able to talk about RSS and Syndication in policyIQ.
What is RSS? And what does it have to do with policyIQ?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" - and it is a standard format for sharing online content. Typically, RSS Feeds are created to push content updates out - and there are lots of feed readers or aggregators that make it easier for an individual to pull in and view lots of RSS Feeds.
For example, I've been using Google Reader as a feed aggregator to gather RSS feeds from product management blogs, updates on technology sites, updates on compliance topics - and, I'll admit, to pull in updates to a few of my favorite celebrity blogs. (No, I'm not going to tell you which ones.) It helps me to keep up to date on a variety of topics that are important (or not so important) for my daily work.
In version 6.4, policyIQ has become an RSS aggregator - allowing you to pull in RSS feeds from a variety of sources. Industry news, compliance topics, news headlines or personal interest - any policyIQ user (Standard or Advanced) can add their own personal RSS feeds that will appear in the Home module.
Why use policyIQ as an aggregator?
For those of you who are in policyIQ every day to complete tasks, it allows you to combine a couple of tools into one place. policyIQ also offers functionality around those feeds that can add value to your existing content.
- A site or global administrator in policyIQ can not only add an RSS feed for their own benefit - but they can make that feed "Available to Everyone", sharing the RSS Feeds with all users in the site. This is a great way to encourage your team members to stay on top of critical industry news.
- If you have the ability to "Add Content" in policyIQ, you can also take any article that might appear in one of your feeds and "Import as WebLink". This will create a WebLink object that links to the article in question, but can now be index into policyIQ Folders, linked to other Pages or content, and even be returned in Reports. (If you have questions about WebLinks, check out the previous post in this Forum!)
But wait! There's more! Syndicate your policyIQ content externally via RSS
Not only can you now pull RSS Feeds into policyIQ, but you can also create RSS Feeds from policyIQ content to push to external audiences. Users with appropriate permissions can create RSS Feeds, buildSubscriber URLs by associating a Feed with a User, and add published content to the Feed. The RSS Feeds created in policyIQ can be read by any feed reader or aggregator - and use the same concept of pass thru URLs that you may already be using for Read Only user access.
Some suggestions:
- Project teams can maintain weekly status reports in policyIQ - and syndicate them via RSS to deliver updated reports to an email inbox of managers or executives.
- Policies, procedures or any content created and managed in policyIQ can be added to an RSS Feed that is made available on a SharePoint portal.
- Meeting minutes or project information can be syndicated to be made easily available to non-policyIQ users.
- Share policyIQ content with another policyIQ client! Occasionally we are asked if it is possible for one policyIQ site to share content with another. Using RSS Feeds, this can be very easy to do!
Note: The ability to create RSS Feeds from your policyIQ content must be activated on your policyIQ site by our support team. There is no additional cost - we simply would like to keep track of those clients who are using the feature, so that we can offer training opportunities, support and suggestions. Contact our support team to activate the feature at support@policyIQ.com.
Here are just some of the ways you can get more information about RSS Feeds and Syndication in policyIQ:
Share your ideas!
When we build and release new features, we have lots of ideas about how policyIQ users will benefit and use the new technology. We love to share those ideas with you and to help you implement something that adds value in your organization and makes you the hero. But you know what is even better? There is always someone out there with an idea that surprises us - and we love to be surprised. (That's why we never celebrate office birthdays anymore on one's actual birthday. It's not as much fun if you know exactly what day you are going to get cake!)
Please share how your organization is using RSS - maybe the feeds that you've added to your site, or the ideas you have about how you can syndication your content to external sources. If you are kind of shy about sharing your idea on the forums, please contact our support team - we'll be happy to brag on your behalf.