Ryan Lowry is the website developer for the Bluffton Icon and offers technological tips for Bluffton Icon viewers.

I get Bluffton's news delivered straight to my cell phone. I never miss a story. Part of this attachment may be due to my slightly higher level of involvement than the average viewer. However, knowing how to use some of the technology available can be a great thing. I'll start with Twitter.

What is Twitter?
Many people may have heard of Twitter, but don't actually know what it is. If you want to know the whole story, you can find that at Wikipedia. Twitter is basically a service that allows you to "follow" people and post your own updates. If you're following someone, you see their updates. If they follow you, they see your updates.

Where do I see updates?
Twitter has many clients to follow updates. Of course, you can use the web. However, you can also use Twitter via texting from your cell phone, desktop applications, and mobile apps (for iPhone and Blackberry, for example).

Setting up Twitter with the Icon and receiving text alerts
To sign up for Twitter, go to their website and click Sign up now. Type in your full name, username, password, email address, and the captcha words. At the top of the page, click Settings, then Mobile. Set up your mobile device. After getting set up, visit the Bluffton Icon's profile and click Follow. Then, click the little phone icon beside the word "Following" to receive alerts via text messages. These alerts will be sent out every time a new story is posted. You can then visit the story from your computer or your mobile phone.

What are RSS feeds?
RSS feeds are ways of subscribing to websites. You copy the RSS feed (like a website address) into your RSS feed reader. Example feed readers are Google Reader and Microsoft Outlook. You can also subscribe to feeds using the newest versions of Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer.

How do I set up an RSS feed reader with the Bluffton Icon RSS feed?
To subscribe, click the orange RSS button at the very top right of any Bluffton Icon page. Copy the address (http://blufftonicon.com/rss.xml). Because there's many feed readers, I will choose Google Reader. To set up your account, visit the site and create an account or login with your existing Google account. Near the top left, click Add a subscription and paste in the address that you copied. All set!

Still have questions? Email me at [email protected].