E-Mail Update Option Summary

A query from a new IEC member who had difficulty subscribing to our e-mail echo prompted the realization that an updated summary of subscription information is appropriate. First, though, a reminder:

The IEC Journal offers a free RSS feed. If you would like to receive instant updates whenever you want, the best option is to use an RSS reader. These programs will give you easy automatic updates of IEC Journal, and any other RSS-equipped web sites you choose, any time you want them. Alternatives are available:

E-mail Updates

The IEC does not presently operate an e-mail mailing list to notify members when new information is posted. Rather, we have suggested that members who want e-mail updates can use free third party e-mail "echo" services. Two such services are RssFwd and Feedblitz. We do not endorse either of these services, but note their availability for those who find them convenient.

These third party services "scrape" new postings off the web site by automated checking and then send an announcement by e-mail. These are free services, and they operate on their schedules, which may not be consistent. There is always some lag time between when we post something on the web site, and the time the echo services mail their announcements. For example, we posted a comment on outsourcing to the web site early one Tuesday morning. RssFwd sent its alert around 6:00 AM on Wednesday and FeedBlitz around 6:00 PM Wednesday.

Some users have reported trouble subscribing to RssFwd, and we have some troubleshooting tips for that service. If you are aware of an e-mail echo service better than Feedblitz and RssFwd, let us know and we will be glad to pass your recommendation along.

We would like to add an IEC-operated mailing list to our services, but it would require either:

1. One or more volunteers to maintain the mailing list and manually send an e-mail each time the web site is updated.
2. A volunteer with the technical knowledge needed to set up an automatic e-mail update procedure. This could be through scripting, or perhaps assisting in moving the web site from TypePad to another platform that supports automated e-mail echoes. We believe Movable Type offers this feature, and there are probably others.

If you have suggestions or would like to volunteer, we would love to hear from you.