Might not be much happening on the front of PsychAntenna but there is plenty happening in the background. Here is what has been going on!

Stephen over at cre8d-design is building me a database in drupal to manage my collection of RSS feeds (around 1500 feeds in total). Early progress is great and here are a few screen shots.

The first screenshot shows each feed and its source.

The second screenshot shows how each feed has a category (e.g., blog, podcast, website) as well as descriptive tags relating to the topic matter of the feed.

The final screenshot shows how users will be able to browse and search the database by category, tag and search terms. Whatever the results, users will be able to download an OPML file that contains all the feeds that match the search term/tag/category. A really easy way to load up your RSS readers in your favourite topic areas.

The development of the database came about for a number of reasons:

1) A few months back I decided to take a more methodical approach to cataloging feeds. I had created two large collections in Bloglines and Google Reader and wanted to be able to pull these into a single collection. While I enjoy showcasing feeds on PsychAntenna, I am not able to keep up with the sheer number of feeds I am finding.

2) As a Medworm Associate whose job includes keeping an eye on the psychiatry/psychology section, I thought it sensible that I lead by example and have my personal collection of feeds neatly organized.

3) My ultimate goal is to provide users with a really simple tool that takes the hassle out of searching for psychology, mental health and neuroscience feeds. Simply put, I want to encourage psychologists to use RSS to keep up with news in their areas. To make it simple, I want to be able to provide them with “bundles” (i.e. OPML files) of RSS feeds in their interest areas so they don’t have to spend too much time searching around for good feeds.

Hopefully in the next couple of months I will be able to put the database online! I’ll keep you updated on progress……….

There are currently a few developments going on in the background for PsychAntenna. My two favourite web developers (Rachel & Stephen) are putting together an RSS feed database for me that will allow me to more quickly and easily track/edit and display psychology, mental health and neuroscience related sites that produce RSS feeds. The database will allow for the importation of two large collections I have amassed over the last 2 years in my bloglines and google reader accounts. This collection (in excess of 1000 feeds) will make for a far more useful resource for consumers of psychology and RSS. When tagged and categorized, users will be able to access OPML bundles of psychology-related RSS feeds in specific subject areas. For example, if you treat a lot of people with depression, you will be able to grab an OPML bundle for depression that will contain a pile of relevant feeds. Stay tuned for more news!

The Ebling Library for the Health Sciences has created an awesome tool for clinicians and researchers who use RSS to track latest journal articles. Visit the site and you can access an “A-Z list of RSS Feeds for 2400+ biomedical and health sciences journals”. Even better, you can download OPML bundles of journals in specific areas (psychology OPML bundle here). For those who aren’t familiar with RSS, the library also offers a couple of introductory videos which should set you nicely on the RSS path. You can also read more about the library’s RSS project on this page and learn more about how this excellent resource was developed.

Lifehacker, as part of their “Hive Five” series recently invited readers to identify their favourite RSS reader. The results are in (over 400 comments and over 4000 votes) and Google Reader is a clear winner. Making up the top five, Netvibes, NetNewsWire (Mac), Feeddemon (Windows) and Sage (Firefox). I am happy to say that I have played with all five readers in my time. I certainly support Google Reader being the winner, especially as I track over 300 journals with my Google Reader account. I have also been really happy with NetNewsWire, being a recent mac convert. The ability to set up filters (looks through your feeds for keywords) is a great feature. I was a little surprised that Bloglines (which has been an industry standard for yonks) didn’t make the list. Looking for a reader? Something for everyone in this list.

Yesterday, I added the 300th RSS feed to the PsychAntenna database. Currently there are over 100 websites and blogs, 47 journals and 20 podcasts. Many thanks to all the proud website/blog owners who have submitted their feed for inclusion. The search for psychology RSS content continues. Lets see if I can double the count by the end of the year!

The Indian Cowboy has started a psychbloggers carnival. Episode 1 can be found over at his site and quite a few familiar faces (if you can call a blog a familiar face?) have contributed. Carnivals are always good from my perspective cause I find new blogs that I can add to the psychantenna database. Take for example “Transmuted Internalizations” which addresses “culture, philosophy, psychiatry, politics, religion, and the ever-important search for an explanation about what the heck it means to be human”.

My personal collection of psychology-related RSS feeds (mostly blogs, podcasts and new sites) has reached 500. Head over to my public bloglines page to check it out.

Ves Dimov (MD) over at Clinical Cases and Images has shared a great slideshow/presentation on Web 2.0 and Medicine. The presentation provides a great overview of some key Web 2.0 technologies, namely RSS, Podcasts, Wikis and Blogs.

Its always neat when a site puts all their feeds on the one page. For those with an interest in science in general, check out Live Science’s RSS Feeds page, with feeds for space, health, animals, environment & nature, technology, history, strange news, blogs, amazing images, image of the day, life’s little mysteries and the universal space podcast.