visualRSS: A Platform to Mine and Visualise Social Data from RSS Feeds

Abstract

Abstract. RSS, a popular method of syndicating frequently updated on-line content, allows data to be stored in a semi-structured, XMLbased format. Much work has been carried out applying data mining techniques to RSS, but in this paper we propose the visualRSS (vRSS) application as a platform to mine and visualise data trends in RSS feeds, by tracking changes in keyword frequencies as a source of social data. Core components of vRSS's architecture to manipulate RSS feeds are described. We also present the results of vRSS's initial experimental usage involving 36 students in late 2011, concerning our research into preferences of mining types and visualisations.