Automatic Regular Posts from Blogs/Websites/RSS Feeds?

neil aus on 07/03/2015 - 07:11

I was recently planning to post a monthly deal, after seeing the previous months deal reach the front page, https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/185054 (PlayStation Plus US/AU: March Free Games (Subscription Required)) however as I was watching the blog page for an update, ready to post the details, I thought this could be better served by an ozBargain automatic process? I noted several comments that also pointed out they were about to post the same deal.

Perhaps other regular bargains could also have this treatment? Coles, Woolworths, Aldi, Dick Smith, TGG maybe some simple ones to start? Perhaps an automatic post could be used to aid posters create posts with standard info, pulling as much as possible from the weblink?

Has this been considered previously?

Site Discussion

Comments

  • Geewhizz on 07/03/2015 - 08:58
    +2

    So in effect you're suggesting that Ozbargain provide a free advertising service for a select few? As it is, the deals that get posted by individuals are what they personally see as being worthwhile.

    The day Ozbargain becomes an infomercial, I'm out of here.

    • neil aus on 07/03/2015 - 09:14

      Not an ad service, no money involved.

      Either something that can help users build a post once you supply a web link, adding tittle, price, expiry, list of items, etc., or an automatic post with zero votes, then up to the community to upvote it.

      As it is now, monthly deals as in my example above, are added pretty much automatically by different users, just with not much info or standard listing of items or sometimes even a clear explanation.

      Also, I'm not suggesting excluding any companies are excluded… You know reps can already post right? Or some users tend to post certain companies frequently too. So, in effect, there are already free ads here.

      • [Deactivated] on 07/03/2015 - 11:12
        +2

        The appropriate title, correct price and currency code, expiry dates, and list of items are not going to be appropriately marked up in HTML to easily automate such a service. It would have to 'scrape' the data from the page, and such systems need constant modification to handle the slightest changes in content formatting.

        The cheapest, easiest and accurate system is to use human workers, ideally ones who are prepared to work for free (or at least upvotes and end-of-year award nominations).

  • Axelstrife on 07/03/2015 - 10:06
    +2

    Yeah those games are not free at all you stop handing over those dollars each month/year to sony and you no longer get to use those so called "free" games.
    and i don't want that spam automatically done each month.

    • neil aus on 07/03/2015 - 16:13

      Yeah, I'm not sure why the 'free' is used, maybe the word 'included' would be ok. What's next, new NetFlix 'free' movies coming in April (NetFlix sub required)! Maybe not the best example… But free apps for iOS, free movies on google play, ebooks on Amazon, 'specials' at Coleworths/BWS/liquorland are all regular and perhaps in a non-html RSS feed somewhere…

      Also, yes, I'd like to block spam like that, perhaps if it always had the same tag/store, we could reliably block it and make it cleaner for those who do not want to see such deals. Not just for PS+, any type of deal may want to be blocked or even highlighted… People who are nowhere near a pizza store, or Perth dewelers without an Aldi, for example.

  • scotty on 07/03/2015 - 12:56
    +2

    Some kind of automation has been planned since last year but haven't really had time to post them. Basically what we'll do is to have a separate queue of automated content. For example,

    • Regular deals that were popular before
    • Amazon daily free apps that reach certain rating
    • Products that were previously popular but went out of stock

    Those items on the queue don't appear on "New Deals". However OzBargain users would have access to this queue, and then users can manually decide whether to post some of the items as a deal.

    • neil aus on 07/03/2015 - 16:18

      Interesting… Maybe the same user who posted previously could be notified of a repeat deal already filled out?

      If you'd like a volunteer I'd be happy to join in reviewing this new queue. Scotty, engage! He he.

    • wisdomtooth on 09/07/2018 - 18:45

      This was a great idea; what happened to it?

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