Topic: Google Reader and nationwide Craigslist searches
So with the demise of searchtempest I thought it might be helpful to share a few tricks for doing nationwide craigslist searches. If you can build a local search, it is possible to expand that to search all 415 of the craiglist sites and consolidate the results in Google Reader.
Let's assume you are starting with a plain search. Here I am, hopefully trying to find a sub $1000 WRX.
Once you do your initial search and you have it tuned the way you like, look for the RSS icon down on the right and give it a click. It's important that you get your search the way you want it for one city before you go and expand it across all of them.
Here's that RSS icon, click it!
Now you should see a slightly different URL in your browser. It doesn't really matter what the browser shows at this point, we just want the text from the URL. What we are going to do is build RSS feeds in Google Reader for each of the 415 Craigslist cities.
Grab the search string (the part after the sfbay.craigslist.org or whatever is your home CL site.) and put in your clipboard. You have to just get the search criteria and not the whole URL - that's important!! I've highlighted what you want in blue.
Now open up this google spreadsheet to build your import list.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc … 4R1E#gid=0
You will probably need to sign in to google docs and make a copy of it - it's read-only for obvious reasons.
Take your query string and paste it into cell B1 on the first sheet.
The formula will expand your string and create the necessary XML structure. Click on sheet #2 and you will find the OPML file to import into Google Reader. OPML is a file format for importing and exporting RSS feeds. Do a "download as" an make a local copy.
Now go to http://google.com/reader and open google reader. Go to the settings (gear icon) and you should find an import/export tab.
Import that OPML file you just downloaded (it's probably got a tsv extension) and you should now have 415 RSS feeds searching for your stuff.
NOTE: please remember to change the search string - if you don't do this and take the defaults, you will import my WRX search.
Jim