Using the power of Yahoo! pipes
Note – in order to use all the features here you will need accounts with Google (gmail account), Yahoo!, Facebook and LinkedIn. The easiest way to follow these instructions is to be logged in to all the accounts before you start.
In another web page we introduced Google Reader and showed how it can be used to listen to the information that’s floating around ‘out there’.
Yahoo! Pipes is an incredibly powerful (and complex) tool which takes the idea of Google Reader a few stages further.
Picture the scenario – “I’d like to use Google Reader to include blogs, Twitter, Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn, but I’d like to reduce the clutter”. Surprisingly, this simple statement is actually quite a complex requirement and needs to be tackled in ‘chunks’.
This webpage will show you how to draw information from various social networks (Chunk 1), feed them and filter them in Yahoo Pipes (Chunk 2) then use that output as a feed to your Google Reader(Chunk 3). Then it’s up to you to do something with the output.
Chunk 1 – The Inputs
Understand the inputs.
Twitter is ‘open’. Unless people protect their tweets a search across Twitter reveals information which interests you.
Google+, Facebook and LinkedIn are closed, and only information relevant to your account is available to you. These last three networks represent a vast (and growing) amount of useful information. In order for the rest of this scenario to work you must be logged into these networks.
Has “challenging” support for rss feeds. It’s there but it’s hidden away in very obscure places. This fantastic post on a blog by jwz shows how to do it! Note that the Facebook feeds are based on your account. Note that clicking on the image will take you to the website.
Please be warned that the user appears to have either not moderated comments or has allowed comments which I would have blocked. (We cannot be responsible for external content)
Following these instructions will help to generate the feeds you’ll need in Chunk 2.
Google+
Note that the RSS feeds are based on the accounts of other users. You’ll need to generate one feed for each user you’d like to follow. At present there isn’t an RSS feed for ‘open content’ as there is in Twitter. In addition, the feed to follow must also be one which has ‘added’ you.
The information on this freenuts.com page shows how to stream Google+ data (via a separate site) to create a feed
To follow these instructions log into Google Plus and find the person you’re interested in.
Note that this will only work with users who have made public comments on Google +
I’ve had permission to show Phil Allman as an example – you can see the Google account information above the word ‘Reader’, so the code we need for the RSS feed is actually
https://plusfeed.appspot.com/1015*************************
(Don’t click or paste in browser – it’s not a valid link!!)
Is a lot easier to sort out – but again will only show information related to people who have accepted invitations to ‘connect’ from you.
To use this feature, firstly log-in to your LinkedIn account, then go to the following page
In the bottom left hand corner LinkedIn generates an RSS key for you – this is the key you need to copy. If you need to revisit this page, a new key will be generated for you.
Chunk 2 – Feed them into Yahoo! Pipes
Go to the Yahoo! Pipes home page http://pipes.yahoo.com and log in with your Yahoo! user name.
Click on the Create a Pipe button. If the screen looks too daunting, helpful advice can be found here
The important part of the Pipes screen is on the left hand side
Click on the Sources to expand the option as shown below
Click on Fetch Feed and drag it into the working area (the right hand part of the screen). It may be easier to follow if you do this three times. We’ll use one for each feed (Google+, LinkedIn and Facebook)
On each of the feed boxes add the feeds you’ve found in chunk 1. Note for the Google+ feeds you’ll need a feed for each Google+ account you’d like to follow.
(In order for this section to work you need to be logged into your relevant accounts)
The feeds need linking together and passing to an output.
On the tools bar (lh side) and drag a ‘Union’ operator onto the working area. Then click the markers at the bottom of the ‘Fetch Feed’ boxes and link to one of the markers on the Union box
You also now have the chance to filter out information which you decide is irrelevant. For example, on the LinkedIn feed I don’t want a constant stream of who is ‘now connected’
Drag a ‘Filter’ operator and place it between the LinkedIn feed and the union operator, and add a rule as shown here
The output from the Union operator needs to be connected to the Pipe Output, which was already on the work area.
Chunk 3 – Use the output in Google Reader
You now need to save your pipe (with a useful name), before you can run it.
When you run the pipe the output appears in the right hand window. Above the output are the share buttons
Click ‘Get as RSS’ - this will open a new window with a strange text/html output. The web address of this page is your RSS feed – highlight and copy ALL of this address.
Now open your Google Reader account and add a new subscription
Your Pipes output is now your Google Reader input.
Is this information helpful to you and are there any areas where more information could help?
That Social Media Stuff