In 2006, as SharePoint’s ecosystem grew, we at Collab365 found ourselves inundated with updates, craving a system that would keep us informed without overwhelming us. This thirst for structured knowledge gave birth to our internal RSS feed, which metamorphosed into our Daily Digest Newsletter over time. Designed for the ever-evolving Microsoft 365 Community, this newsletter has become our bridge to IT professionals, citizen developers, and company leaders. Today, I invite you to join us as we unravel the technical tapestry behind this service.
A Bird’s Eye View of the Process
Imagine a relay race. It starts with spotting the best articles, handing over the baton to summarizing and staging them for approval, leading to publishing, compiling, and ultimately distributing them. Each stage is critical, and each handover is seamless. Here’s our workflow in a nutshell:
- Content Discovery: Through the vast expanse of the internet, Feedly becomes our lens, filtering and presenting relevant articles.
- Initial Processing: Once shortlisted, Make.com is triggered when we save an article to a Feedly Board. OpenAI works its magic, distilling articles into concise summaries.
- Staging and Approvals: These summaries find their temporary home in SharePoint, awaiting approval.
- Publishing: Once greenlit, they transition to WordPress using Power Automate, beautifully presented and ready for the world.
- Newsletter Compilation: WordPress then crafts a custom RSS feed, a prelude to the final newsletter.
- Email Distribution: This is where BigMailer, bolstered by AWS SES, steps in, dispatching our curated digest to eager inboxes.
- Subscriber Management & Feedback: Ensuring we stay attuned to our readers, managing subscriptions, and acting on feedback.
- Performance Monitoring: A retrospective step where we measure, learn, and iterate.
The Intricacies of Content Discovery with Feedly
Feedly isn’t just another tool; it’s our compass in the chaotic world of content. With over 300 blogs under surveillance, it offers a daily buffet of articles. We meticulously handpick each one, gauging its relevance and depth. Articles are then categorized, all under the vigilant umbrella of Feedly’s “Daily Digest” board.
Transitioning to SharePoint via Make.com
Why choose Make.com? Because it perfectly bridges Feedly and SharePoint (and it’s affordable). The added brilliance of OpenAI ensures each article is paired with a compelling summary. Within SharePoint, articles are meticulously organized, subjected to rigorous quality checks, and prepped for the next phase.
WordPress: Our Digital Stage
This is where the approved articles shine. Seamless integration between SharePoint and WordPress is orchestrated through Power Automate, ensuring that each article and summary looks its best. Our custom WordPress theme is pivotal in ensuring uniformity and elegance. A live testament to our efforts can be seen at today.collab365.com.
Bringing it All Together: BigMailer and RSS Integration
Our custom RSS Feed is the spine of our newsletter. As we marry this with BigMailer’s robust capabilities and the reliability of AWS SES, we ensure that our newsletters don’t just reach inboxes but are eagerly awaited.
Tuning in to Our Subscribers
Our journey doesn’t end once the newsletters are sent. Through BigMailer, we manage our growing tribe of 14,000 subscribers. Feedback loops, automated unsubscriptions, and direct engagements ensure our newsletter remains a collaborative masterpiece.
Looking Ahead
Our vision for the Daily Digest goes beyond what it is today. With aspirations of launching a mobile application and continually refining our content curation and delivery process, we are committed to evolving with the Microsoft 365 Community.
In Conclusion
Our Daily Digest isn’t just a newsletter; it’s a testament to our commitment to the Microsoft 365 Community. For those intrigued by our journey or who wish to embark on a similar venture, we invite you to subscribe, explore today.collab365.com, or join our vibrant Collab365 Academy. Collaborations, inquiries, or simple hellos are always welcome at [email protected].