The problem I am solving is one where I need to update a podcast feed to add the name of the show.  On the Lifestyle PodNetwork when we display a list of shows we start with the name of the show, followed by an episode.  Some hosts forget or can’t add the name of the show, so this is a way we can do it for them.

So here’s a picture of what I started with (fig 1.1), followed by the result after I used Yahoo Pipes (fig 1.2).

fig. 1.1

fig. 1.2

This is what you do:

Firstly, setup an account in Yahoo Pipes at http://pipes.yahoo.com, and start a new pipe.

Next from the Sources menu select Fetch feed and drag it to the workspace.  Once you have done this enter the RSS feed you want to modify

Next from the Operators menu choose Sort.  Configure the sort operator by publication date item.pubDate and then descending. This will ensure that the most recent items are on top.

Then choose Regex from the Operators menu.  Configure item.title and leave the text field blank. This will append your string of text ahead of any content already in the item title.  In the With field, type the text you wish to add.  In my case I added “Create Your LifeStory ”

Do remember to add a space to the end of your string so that your new text does not run up directly against the string of text in the item title.

Once you have your feed working the way you want it to, then you can experiment with other great options like Truncate which limits the number of records it returns from your RSS feed in the output.

Your final pipe should look something like fig 1.3

fig 1.3 - Yahoo! Pipes example

Coach Jeff prompted me about Twitter - he needed to know how to make twitter work for him. As our conversation continued it became evident just how much Jeff really needed to know.

Coach Jeff told me about his need for a primer on Twitter – he’d signed up, he used it occasionally, but he knew he didn’t get the best out of it. Even the easier concepts like replies and direct messages were a challenge. My assumptions were blown out of the water, and we’re working to create some content specifically around how to get started with Twitter.

I needed to ask myself : How close am I am to Twitter?

It’s really important to be able to answer that question because the more familiar you are with your content matter, the less sharp you get at asking the right questions and driving out assumptions.  By knowing this you’ll be able to free up your creativity and unblock your thinking.

I discovered that I was very close to Twitter.

Twitter was a tool that I grew up with, and that I’ve watched evolve. It’s second nature to me, and even though I don’t tweet that often, I could explain some great ways to get community participation and drive engagement using it. For me the basics of twitter need no explanation – they’re intuitive right? Wrong!

Ian Kath from the Your Story podcast had a similar experience. He outlined on previous episodes of Podcasters’ Emporium how when he started podcasting he only just knew the basics of finding his way around a computer. He had a similar experience where what most would consider easy tasks, needed to be broken down into even smaller pieces of information. He needed instructions that are broken down into smaller steps that are clearer to follow.

But the whole exercise got me wondering how much else I just assume people know. How much content do I rule out of shows like Podcasters’ Emporium because I think it’s too basic, or people will already know that? How much great content gets buried because of my assumptions?

I’m working hard to drop assumptions about what people do and don’t know, so that I can release my creativity, and start reaching outside the box for fresh new content.

I thought I’d share this journey with you because I figure I’m not the only one inside the box.  The boxes might be different, but the outcome is the same. 

Consider the assumptions you make now… how are they affecting your creativity?