News Release

FWC expands RSS offerings

October 12, 2007
Contact: Scott Ball, (850) 488-9386

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is making greater use of those little, orange rectangles seen on many Web sites to provide customized delivery of news and information over the Internet.

Since 2005, the FWC has used a technology called Really Simple Syndication – commonly known as RSS – to alert interested parties when news releases are published on its Web site: MyFWC.com. Web sites commonly use the orange rectangle with the letters "RSS” to denote pages using this increasingly common service. In recent weeks, the FWC has doubled its offering of "channels” or "feeds” to deliver various categories of news releases via RSS.

For more about RSS, including a list of the FWC’s feeds, go to MyFWC.com/Whatsnew/RSS.htm.

"Our first feeds covered topics like hunting, fishing, law enforcement and wildlife,” said Scott Ball, Web editor with the FWC’s Community Relations Office. "As RSS became more common, we added channels for news from our Tallahassee headquarters and each of our five administrative regions as well as the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.”

Users wishing to receive RSS feeds from the FWC will need an RSS reader on their computers. There are numerous readers available online; most are free, and installation is relatively easy.

"Once you have a reader installed, go to MyFWC.com/Whatsnew/RSS.htm to sign up for as many feeds as you wish,” Ball said. "The means of notification vary among brands of readers, but typically a window will pop up in a corner of your screen when a new alert is published.”

In addition to news releases, the FWC now offers an RSS feed for those who wish to offer their opinions on emerging issues at the FWC.

"Public participation in the agency’s decision-making process is a high priority,” Ball said. "Our site features a page that lists numerous online surveys and other opportunities for people to comment on proposed rules and rule changes, draft management plans and other issues calling for public input. That page now includes an RSS feed, so people can subscribe and always be notified when a new comment opportunity arises.”