In preparation for an upcoming social media training, I asked the participants what social media tools they would most like to learn more about. I was surprised by how many of them said that they would like to better understand RSS feeds, so I thought I’d share a little overview with you, in case you’d like to learn about them too.

RSS is often described as standing for “really simple syndication.” The Wikipedia definition is a pretty good one. RSS is a, “family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.”

Now, you might be wondering, why should I care about RSS feeds?

Four reasons:

1. RSS feeds help you follow recently updated web content without your having to visit each site individually. By reading feeds in a feed reader you can; for example, read all of your favorite art bloggers’ newest posts in one place.

Some popular feed readers are Google Reader, FriendFeed and Bloglines. Just this week the Google Reader Blog announced that even if a site doesn’t have an RSS feed, you can use Google Reader to follow changes to any website.

2. RSS feeds allow you to keep up to date on news about specific topics. For example, The New York Times has dozens of topical RSS feeds. You can subscribe to a feed of all of their Arts news, or just their Dance stories.

3. RSS feeds can de-clutter your email in-box. For example, did you know that you can subscribe to Google Group updates, Google Alerts, and Google Blog Searches by rss? (You do have a Google Alert set up for your name, you business name, and news about your art form, right?).

4. By providing an RSS feed for your supporters to subscribe to, you make it easy for them to keep up with your latest news. Many social media tools automatically publish an RSS feed. If your site doesn’t come with an RSS feed, the Wild Apricot blog post, No RSS Feed for Your Website? No Problem, has a list of tools that can help you create one.

Also, if you have a blog, or podcast, I recommend you “burn” your feed with a service called Feedburner to help you track your subscribers.

All that said, many people are still not familiar with RSS feeds, and still rely heavily on email. When possible, offer a way for people to follow your news by email too, whether through an e-newsletter, or by allowing them to subscribe to your blog by email, which Feedburner and Feedblitz will allow them to do.

Flickr photo credit: RSS Diagram uploaded by Jason Rhode.

Did you know that according to an April 2009 survey by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, 62% of adult internet users have watched videos on online video-sharing sites like YouTube?

With affordable Flip Cameras, user friendly editing software like iMovie, and online tutorials like Freevlog, it has never been easier to make a short film about your work.

Below are 10 ideas for how to promote your art with online video compiled from The Artist’s Guide to YouTube, How to Use Online Video to Promote Your Art, 4 Ways You Can Use YouTube to Promote Your Art Online, and Visual Art Marketing Tool, the Vlog.

1. Tell the story behind your work
2. Film your artist statement
3. Film a tour of your studio
4. Demonstrate your process
5. Share footage from openings and event
6. Make a tutorial/how-to video
7. Keep a video diary
8. Record testimonials
9. Make a slideshow of photos (if you don’t have a video camera)
10. Review someone else’s art

What are some examples you’ve seen of artists and artisans using online video to promote their work?

Image: Screenshot of YouTube video of Favianna Rodriguez showing the artistic process for some of her most popular works.

Britt Bravo also blogs for Have Fun * Do Good, BlogHer, and WE Volunteer.  She is a Big Vision Consultant.

I don’t know about you, but I *love* bookstores.  Yes, sometimes I order things when I’m in a rush from Amazon, but nothing beats bookstore browsing.  I can’t imagine a world without independent bookstores, can you?

Bookselling this Week had an article by Karen Schechner (@KSchechner) earlier in the summer about how, Savvy Booksellers Use Twitter to Draw Crowds, Boost Sales. The article highlights 3 case studies of how bookstores have used Twitter, a microblogging and social networking tool, to improve business:

1. Fountain Bookstore (@FountainBkstore) used Twitter to take questions for authors during book readings from fans who couldn’t come to the event.

2. Skylight Books (@skylightbooks) had a tweet-up, a meeting of their Twitter followers, one night at the store.  Attendees received, “15-percent off all books in the store, and 20-percent off hardcover fiction and graphic novels.”

3. Rainy Day Books (@RainyDayBooks) hosted a contest on Twitter that, “gave indie fans a chance to proclaim their love for their favorite bookshops.”

The Booksellers Blog, by @AnnKingman, which focuses on, “online marketing, social media, and blogging for the Independent Bookseller,” has 7 posts about how booksellers can use Twitter:

1. How to get 700 new visitors in 2 days
2. Making things happen using social media
3. What I Think about Twitter for Booksellers
4. Can booksellers and publishers use Twitter to drive business?
5. How I follow 1700 people on Twitter in only 20 minutes a day
6. A simple way for bookstores to use Twitter
7. Can Twitter really work for small businesses?

Finally, you can see additional examples of booksellers using Twitter by browsing through the WeFollow Twitter directory for Twitter accounts tagged with bookseller and bookstore.

Do you have a  story about how independent bookstores are using Twitter, or other social media tools, to build their business?  I hope you’ll share it in the comments.

Britt Bravo also blogs for Have Fun * Do Good, BlogHer, and WE Volunteer.  She is a Big Vision Consultant.