A typical RSS icon identifying a feed

It seems to me that a few of you are not picking up on an opportunity available to you in your Memberize toolbox.  In this article we’ll focus on the RSS tools available in Memberize websites.  I’ve personally be asked a number of times if there is any way to keep up to date on what events or meetings are coming up with out having to visit the website to do so.  RSS is a common technology standard that has been around for sometime and it’s available in Memberize.

RSS – Rich Site Summary OR Real Simple Syndication
Wikipedia - RSS

I don’t know this for sure but, I’d guess that RSS is probably still most associated with Blogs.  It provides a way for all of us to plug a blog’s RSS feed into a computer or mobile device application we access often so we can read headlines and summaries of things that might be interesting to read with out having to visit the Blog itself.  Then, if you want to read further you typically click the title (or more info link) and you’re taken to that article at the source itself -The Blog’s Website.

Well, this is great for Blogs but it is equally useful for any other dynamic or often updated information on websites.  For example your Event/Meetings Calendar!  Memberize has RSS baked into the Calendar feature.  You just have to turn it on via [Admin > Communications > Communication Options].  Once you have RSS enabled in communication options you’ll see it listed in your Admin menu as RSS Feeds (See image – Accessing your RSS Options).  Go there and see the options you have.  Choose the types of Calendar Feeds you want to offer your members or website visitors (See image – Choose your RSS Options).

 (Accessing your RSS Options)

(Choose your RSS Options)

Once you have your Calendar RSS options set correctly you will see a little RSS image displayed on the upper right hand side of your Calendar display.  When somebody clicks on that they will see all the Calendar RSS options available to them (See Calendar RSS List image.)

(Calendar RSS List)

By clicking on the RSS or XML images you will be taken straight to the Feed.  If you’re browser is set to display RSS feeds natively they should open up with in the browser.  If you have a default RSS reader setup on your computer or device THAT application should ask you what you’d like to do with this information.  You can also copy the Feed URL that is offered in the listing and paste that into your reader of choice.  As of this writing, Safari in OS X Mountain Lion does not to handle RSS natively and may ask you to provide a reader (I personally miss that feature).  I use NetNewsWire to handle all of my RSS subscriptions now on my Mac but I like to use Flipboard on my iPad and iPhone.  Windows users have variety of options too.  I hear SharpReader is a top pick but I haven’t tried it.  Outlook can be your RSS feed reader as well as Internet Explorer.  As of this writing Firefox handles Feeds natively.  Chrome will ask you what service you’d like to use to display your Feeds if you try to access via it’s URL/Address.  (Again, all this information is true as of the date of this article.) Oh yes…don’t forget to check into Google Reader

Job Bank RSS Feeds

We also offer RSS feeds of your Job Bank, although you’ll have to be using the Memberize 2012 system configuration.  If you have an active Job Bank / Job Board people can subscribe via RSS to better keep up to date on what the latest postings are.  To enable your Job Bank RSS Feeds first make sure RSS is enabled in Communication Options as I mentioned earlier then, see your Job Bank Display Options.  You have a choice of Detailed or Summary Listings.

Give it a try.  I’m guessing you, your fellow administrators, your members, and visitors will enjoy this new accessibility you provide them.

TIP:  Do a search on Google for “Best RSS Reader”.  You’ll see an abundance of options for you.  Many Free Options and some Paid.

Resizing Images in:

Windows 7
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Resize-a-picture-using-Paint

Windows XP
PowerToys Video
(Starts with brief explanation of resolution and why you should resize for your website)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUr9wuIp_Bk

PowerToys Download
(See PowerToys on this page and find Image Resizer)
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-xp

Mac
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWqXD-Fvk0Y

Technology is constantly changing. Memberize looks a lot different today than it did six years ago when the brand was born. Since 2004 we’ve added over 250 key features to our product and our customer base has grown steadily year after year.

But here’s the thing, technology is going to continue to change and so is Memberize. It is with this commitment to continuous evolution that Memberize is excited to present the faster, easier, more powerful Memberize 2012.

When it comes to technology, change can be good. Change can mean a more streamlined organization with less wasted energy and hassle. At Memberize, our mission is to stay on the forefront of new developments to provide our customers the most advanced software available so they get their jobs done quickly, reliably and easily. See the list of what you’ll find in this First Wave from Memberize 2012 below.

As always it must be made clear that we appreciate your loyal business and we sincerely hope you find these updates as exciting as we do!

Dos Lagos golf course has had a rough year.  The southern New Mexico and El Paso, Texas area didn’t see the cold snap coming but it came alright.  Some reported the area experienced the longest and coldest stretch in over 50 years.  One of the victims of this weather was Dos Lagos.  A family owned golf course in Anthony, NM.

What eventually happened was the loss of over half of their putting greens.  During normal economic environments (and when Tiger Woods is at the top of his game) this would be a sizable repair but relatively affordable.  But…sense Dos Lagos and the golf industry has been down over the last few years this became a serious situation fast.  According to Dos Lagos owners, if you have decent greens then you’re players/customers can be happy.  A big concern was the thought of people spreading the word about the condition of the greens. 

Dos Lagos, with the use of their communication tools within their Memberize website and certain social media outlets (Facebook and Twitter), decided to keep people closely informed on the matters at hand with pictures and short messages of what progress was being made on their favorite affordable public golf course.

Thankfully Dos Lagos had built and promoted their bulk email lists to date so there was a quick way to get any important news in front the eyeballs of their subscribing golfers.  Also, during this period of rebuilding they were able to promote the idea of following Dos Lagos on Twitter to get quicker snippets of information rather than the more comprehensive email updates.  With the linkage and interface to Facebook many of those people began to follow Dos Lagos on Facebook.  All of these vehicles provided ways to direct interested people back to their website where the message was perfectly clear.

The idea of staying in front of the problem and offering up to date information to current/potential golfers was very valuable to the business.  The audience felt connected and rather than jumping ship to another option of golf course they’ve feel like some if not many have hung in there with ‘their club’.

The golf club has been promoting their annual tournaments online more than they have in the past because they’ve noticed the growth in their email and social lists.  This has had a measurable impact on event participation.  “I had completely forgot about the club championship this month”, replied one golfer.

So now that they finally have their greens in better shape they can happily provide this information to their golfers to come back and enjoy their club just as they did before.

They have a long way to go as does Tiger Woods but I personally think they’re going to make it.  We here at Memberize are happy to offer the tools to help!!

Dos Lagos doesn’t even use the Membership Management part of the Memberize feature set.  That tells you something doesn’t it?  We’re pulling for the Dos Lagos Golf Course family and hope we can continue to work with them to support their come back!!

In the upload form you determine the access rules for that file, whether it is going to be available to all members or select members in the Library or hidden from all users, in the latter case this will limit access to that file in links you publish.  And any file uploaded to the Document Library will appear in the Select A Link tool on the HTML editor.  So as soon as you upload your file you can quickly and easily create a link that loads that file in any message or page you make inside Memberize.

Determine who can see the document

Select A Link tool lists Your Documents to link to