The true power of webbots is that they can make decisions and take action with the information they find online. Here are a few suggestions for extending what you’ve learned to do with RSS or other data you choose to aggregate with your webbots.
Modify the script in Example 12-8 to accept stories that don’t contain a keyword.
Write an aggregation webbot that doesn’t display information unless it finds it on two or more sources.
Design a webbot that looks for specific keywords in news stories and sends an email notification when those keywords appear.
Search blogs for spelling errors.
Find an RSS feed that posts scores from your favorite sports team. Parse and store the scores in a database for later statistical analysis.
Write a webbot that uses news stories to help you decided whether to buy or sell commodities futures.
Devise an online clipping service that archives information about your company.
Create an RSS feed for the example store used in Chapter 8.