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……….