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RSS for Newbies; A Quick Tutorial
"RSS" stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a new way
to distribute content. Any content: websites, blogs, forums, etc.
To explain what this means, for once let's start at the end.
Content from RSS feeds can be displayed by an RSS
newsreader.
You and I, as end-users or consumers of that content, can read it
by installing a newsreader (more on this below). You have to put
an URL for an RSS feed into that newsreader (like you put a web
address in your browser).
You can recognize these RSS feed URL's by a little orange
graphic displaying RSS or XML. If you click on such graphic with
your right-mouse button you can copy its URL (copy ShortCut) and
paste that into your newsreader. (Some sites might simply have a
text "RSS" or "Syndicate" link which is basically the same.)
With that URL, the newsreader (when you are online) picks up
the RSS feed that is available at that URL, reads the feed data
and displays it in the reader.
The RSS feed itself contains information about the titles,
descriptions and other data about the publisher's content. It is
written in a special language (XML/RSS, easy to learn!), but
that's out of the scope of this article.
And finally the RSS feed is made up by the publisher of the
content. Most of the time their software does the job. And very
often this software is used in combination with blogs. That's why
lots of people mix them up. Now, to end that confusion, get
this:
- a blog is content like a website or article while
- RSS is a way to distribute content
The main RSS benefits for end-users or consumers
The main benefit as an end-user or consumer of RSS is that we can
subscribe to content provided by publishers WITHOUT giving out
personal data like email address.
That's why Ken Evoy of SiteSell calls it 'Real Simple
Subscribing'. Of course the same applies to unsubscribing. Simply
delete the RSS URL from your reader and you don't receive
messages from it any more.
Finally the end-user is in control. The content is coming to her
without visiting a website. That makes it easy to scan and only
visit those sites with promising information.
As a consequence of that the publisher better submit quality
content in his RSS. Otherwise nobody will read it. So that's
another big benefit!
An extra benefit for us is that we often are allowed to post
comments or feedback.
Because the search engines just love RSS and blogs, they will
visit them frequently to index any new content. In most cases you
may add your URL in the comment post and that means a link back
to your site!
So, if you find a good blog, just enter a message in the feedback
section and see what happens.
And there's the benefit of speed. In this fast moving world we
want everything NOW. Well, as soon as a publisher changes content
we can receive it (if you have your reader online).
Are there any disadvantages?
Could be. When you start to use your reader it may be a bit
'overwhelming' like the first time you searched the Net,
remember? 'Click here, click there, click this, click that .....
oops, what was it again I was looking for?
If you subscribe to every promising feed you'll encounter, you
may very soon suffer from the good old 'information overload'.
Such problem is easily solved by deleting the feeds and start all
over again, this time more targeted. Below I have an outstanding
resource to search for relevant feeds, so read on!
Another disadvantage may be the impersonal character of feeds.
There's no interaction unless you visit the publisher's site. And
there's no way RSS will be used for payment receipts for
purchases and answers to questions asked. It simply isn't a
one-to-one communication system. It's only consuming
information.
So, will RSS replace email or newsletters (ezines)?
Absolutely NOT!
While RSS is an outstanding way to distribute content, it will
always be very public. It's not a one-to-one communication
medium. You can not build a relationship with your readers, you
can't personalize it and you can't reward your subscribers for
trusting you, simply because you don't know who they are.
See RSS as another way to collect information. That's all it
is.
And maybe a way to ban spam because the readers are in control of
the subscribe and unsubscribe process. We sign up for feeds and
drop feeds anonymously. Remember, if publishers send out poor
information, no-one will read it.
Wow, another big benefit!.
But for the real information, the communication with my
readers, I still use my newsletter. I want to use that to provide
the real insiders information. (I intend to even go one step
further, but that's for another issue. Keep subscribed and you
will learn more in the next few weeks!)
That's what any serious marketer will do. So, if you only
subscribe to newsletters from trusted companies and individuals
and sign up for RSS feeds for more general information, chances
are your email box will remain free of spam and loaded with
useful, more personal publisher information.
Download your reader
RSS readers are also called "RSS aggregators" or "news
aggregators". Here are a few popular ones:
http://feedreader.com
http://pluck.com/
http://www.rssreader.com/
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/ (for Mac users)
http://my.yahoo.com/ (a client-side reader, that is, you can read
the feeds at your MyYahoo site; you'll need to register)
There are many more, these are just examples to get you
started.
I strongly suggest to go out there and find some interesting
feeds. So .....
How to find interesting RSS feeds?
There are many directories of RSS feeds already that you can
browse and find something of interest. I will list a few of them
below, but if you're looking for specific information then you
better use an extraordinary and outstanding search tool.
A tool that you can always use, because it covers almost
everything about searching and search terms.
But in this case we concentrate on RSS feeds only. It's a
little window that you can keep alive in your screen. Here's how
it works:
* Click this Search Link to open a little window (don't forget to
bookmark it!)
* Next click on Search It in that little window! A new little
window pops up.
* In that new window select 'Reference Library for Content' in
Step 1. Next select anything with RSS in it in Step 2.
* If you've done that I suggest you click on 'Click Here for
Information About Search Type' in the center of the window to get
more help.
* Finally enter your keywords in Step 3 and hit Search It!
Easy uh? I told you this is an outstanding tool!
Other resources:
http://www.feedster.com/
http://directory.google.com/Top/Computers/Internet/On_the_Web/Weblogs/
http://w.moreover.com/main_site/content/index.html
http://www.syndic8.com/
Now go out and find some interesting feeds.
That's it for today.
Wish you success.
Case Stevens
Case Stevens, owner of AnOwnSite Online Marketing, is
experimenting with different marketing techniques, websites,
traffic and lead generation. He publishes his experiences in a
newsletter featuring understandable, successful low cost Internet
marketing techniques, ideas and strategies, articles, news, tips
& tricks and interesting (free) downloads.
Subscribe at Affordable
Online Strategies
MORE RESOURCES updated Wed. February / 05 / 2025
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