Product Description
A clear and concise guide to strategy, structure, selection with in depth technical coverage of feed formats and XML vocabularies Clear explanation of feed formats and choices Intro and reference for content professionals and developers In depth guide to Feed XML vocabulary In Detail RSS and Atom are the most widely used of many content syndication formats that have developed over the last few years to address the need to distribute and receive streams … More >>

RSS and Atom: Understanding and Implementing Content Feeds and Syndication: A clear and concise guide to strategy, structure, selection with in depth technical … of feed formats and XML vocabularies

• ISBN13: 9780764588488
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
So you have a business and you have a Web site. Bravo! You re doing all the right things to be successful. But wait the information on your Web site needs to be updated, and your customers need to know. Good heavens, didn t you spend half of last week doing that? There s got to be a quicker, easier way to keep your clientele informed, and while we re at it, how about building your business too? RSS can come to your rescue, but first you need to know what it is and … More >>

Syndicating Web Sites with RSS Feeds For Dummies ®

Everyone loves luxury. Tools that make life simpler are always welcome. Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is one such tool that has caught on rapidly, simply because it is “really simple” to use like the name suggests.

What is RSS? RSS brings updated information straight to your desktop. All you have to do is subscribe to them and you will be intimated as and when there are updates. You can now keep yourself abreast of news, blogs, job listings, personals and classifieds with the least of efforts from your end.

Websites now are updated continually; sometimes, several times a day. RSS saves you the trouble of going over to websites regularly. Instead, whenever there is an update you are intimated almost instantly. Thus, this certainly is a “really simple”, hassle free process of conveying information.

Increasing traffic, gathering and distributing news are some of the common problems that webmasters face. RSS is a simple solution for all. It is a lightweight XML format for sharing headlines and other web content. Each RSS text file contains both static information about your site and dynamic information in the form of new content from time to time.

RSS is another language by itself. But it is the end product that one is looking for. You can conveniently ignore the code just like the source code behind a webpage.

Types of RSS readers

Standalone readers

Standalone applications simply process RSS feeds. It is a new application that you can populate as much as you want. However, you are going to have to keep this additional application open on your desktop.

In a standalone reader, you will notice a toolbar with 3 window panes much like the preview mode in Microsoft Outlook. The subscribed RSS feeds are displayed towards the left side which can be organized into folders and categories. The upper-right panel shows the list of articles under the category selected while the lower-right panel shows the content of the article. Some standalone applications can be configured to send you an email or dialog popup window as and when there is an update.

Plug-in readers

Plug-in applications work within an existing program like Microsoft Outlook, Internet Explorer or Firefox. The reader merely becomes a new component of the application already opened. However, in case you have already clogged your system with many bookmarks and favorites, feeds might be an overload into your application.

For plug-in readers, a column for channels and a display area for a headline, a brief description and a URL are included in the desired application. In case of Microsoft Outlook, display only the headlines and summaries within the e-mail application and open an internet explorer to display the full content. In case of Internet Explorer application, the chosen article is automatically displayed within the browser. However, this tends to replace your Favorites bookmark collection.

How do you subscribe to an RSS feed?

Here are simple steps that you have to follow in order to subscribe to an RSS feed:

• Click the feed button of the desired webpage.

• Copy (right click and select copy) the URL from the address bar (http://…) of your browser, which should show a page full of XML code

• Now go to your newsreader, choose the category where you want this particular feed to be placed. Example: Sports, Entertainment, Academics etc.

• From the File menu, select New or New Channel. In most cases, the URL will get automatically pasted in the wizard, else, manually paste (right click and select paste) the link yourself.

• Then, follow the instructions provided. This will differ based on the newsreader chosen by you.

The reader will take care of the rest, once you have pasted the URL link. It will provide you with updates once the link has been fed in.

Customize options

When too many articles are accumulated through various feed subscriptions, the process of searching becomes difficult. For this, there is a Filter/Search bar. Type in keywords and the reader will throw up articles that contain your keywords. To go back to the full article list, click the drop down control for the filter bar and set the keyword to None.

You can also save an article by selecting “Copy to News Bin” option from the Edit menu. This can be accessed from the left hand panel.

There are several RSS reader software products in the market. They have interfaces that look resemble e-mail programs. Some of them are free while others are available at a reasonable cost.

Aggie, Ampheta Desk, Awasu, Feed Demon, Feed Reader, Headline Viewer, News Gator, Newzcrawler, Radio UserLand, Syndirella, Wildgrape NewsDesk, Web-Based Aggregators, Bloglines, Google Reader, Gregarius, My Yahoo, News Is Free, Rocket RSS Reader (RocketNews) are some of the most common RSS readers. You can use these readers to subscribe to feeds.

Some of the readers have the ability to set a watch, that is, an automatic search through all your incoming feeds for a specific keyword. Whenever a feed has the keyword specified by you, it is put in the watch list so that you can read up on your most sought after articles.

Over a period of time, you will have more RSS feeds in your reader than you can possible keep track of. Simply delete the title to do away with a feed you’re no longer interested in. If you delete a feed permanently like this, you will not receive any updates or information from the particular publisher unless you re-subscribe to the feed.

There are several web directories of RSS software available online. So if you are looking at feeds related to specific topics, you can run a search to find dozens of links pertaining to what you are looking at.

All in all, RSS is a technology combined with convenience. This amazing combination ensures that you get all the information you want on a silver platter by the blink of the eye! It helps you keep up with information in today’s fast paced world. Get started with RSS now!

One of the most misunderstood files, but yet one of the most powerful on the Web, is the RSS feed sometimes known as the RSS news feed, XML feed or web feed. One form of this special XML file is the podcast, but yet many casual and even hi-tech surfers still do not understand that they are using this exciting technology invisibly every day to read news and follow blog sites.

RSS, standing for Really Simple Syndication, is not new technology. The technology and implementation was created in 1999 by Netscape. RSS is an important technology and one that you are most likely using to get news, information updates, and to follow blogs that you like from a portal page invisibly. RSS files are created in XML or Extensible Markup Language. XML is another programming language used widely on the Web, like HTML, but one that cannot be read in its raw form by a browser. Because it operates invisibly, RSS has not been recognized by mainstream web surfers as the powerhouse that it is, but, that doesn’t mean that developers aren’t using RSS to serve you the content and information that you want most!

Why is This Misunderstood File So Powerful?

RSS, XML feeds or RSS news feeds, as they are commonly known, create the dynamic backbone behind many of the sites that many casual web surfers use every day without even knowing that they are using this exciting technology. If you visit a personalized home page, add content to it, or even subscribe to blog with one click buttons, most likely, you are using the power of RSS news feeds already. Blogs routinely and automatically create these RSS news feeds (sometimes in a format known as Atom) and these special files allow others to auto subscribe to your content and view snippets of your information in real-time from a variety of portal news aggregator websites like My Yahoo, iGoogle, My Live, My AOL, and others.

Podcasts are Another Flavor of the RSS News Feed

Podcasts or RSS news feeds which contain audio file enclosures are just another flavor of this powerful XML file format. It is interesting to note that as of late 2007, 13% of polled Web users had heard of and were routinely downloading and playing podcasts, but fewer than 7% of the polled Web users stated that they were using RSS news feeds on a regular basis. Actually, the figure of users utilizing RSS feeds is probably much greater than 7%, but people are simply not aware that this hidden application is most likely supplying the content and information that they like to review on a daily basis.

How Can You Use RSS News Feeds Yourself?

Although it is harder for non-web designers to create and use RSS due to the technology and skill needed for implementation, most blog platforms create these special files for you automatically without your having to lift a finger. Installing auto subscribe buttons known as chicklets on your blog sidebar allows others to subscribe to your blog using your RSS news feed with one click. If you use Feedburner, they make it easy for you to allow for one click blog reader subscription by having you simply enter in your blog address and then providing a snippet of code to install on your web page. You may even be able to have Feedburner auto install a widget in your Blogspot template, without any code knowledge on your part, to help you get into the RSS syndication game fast.

When a blog reader clicks the special subscription chicklets that you have created with Feedburner’s help, readers can get your blog posts in real time; every time you update your blog, directly in their chosen RSS feed reader like My Yahoo, My Live, etc. There, their page content is automatically updated with your brand new blog content. Your blog subscriber can now choose to read your blog post there, on their news portal, or they can click in to read the full post from the additionally dynamically supplied link to your blog site. That’s the real power of RSS!

How Can You Get Into Podcasting Fast?

If you are using our teleconferencing tools, you can easily create an RSS news feed or podcast of your teleconference. When you have recording enabled for your teleconferences, you are automatically creating a MP3 file of your call that is stored on the AccuConference website. You can easily download this sound file, in MP3 format, to your own computer and send it to your webmaster for podcasting implementation.

Your webmaster can either just create a list of links on a page of the MP3 files and when clicked will open the browser’s integrated music player. Or, your webmaster can get fancy and can create a RSS news feed to allow podcatchers (software end-users utilize to manage their podcast subscriptions and be notified of your new audio files) to auto-sense when a new audio file has been added and to automatically download the content as well as synch it to their computer or media player. There are many services on the Web that help webmasters create these special RSS podcast subscription feeds. An easy one to use is FeedHoster. Some web hosts are now even creating online applications to assist with the creation of podcast syndication feeds. Even Feedburner has gotten into the game and provides easy podcast syndication tools.

It’s Time to Engage Your Viewers!

As you update your website or blog with new and interactive technology consider implementing RSS to allow your viewers more choice in how they receive your content. RSS is just one of the powerful new ways that we are getting our personalized content on the Web today and one that you can easily implement without a lot of hassle on your blog, website, and social media site. It’s time to put the power of RSS to work for you!

RSS or Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary is the latest information management tool that is gradually earning popularity among web users and website owners. With RSS technology, it is possible to get the latest postings from your favorite websites. But clicking on the RSS or XML button in a homepage is not enough to give you the service you need. An RSS feed or code displayed in the pop-up screen if not on the main page is composed of symbols and words that would only make sense to advanced RSS users and computer programmers and software enthusiasts. Another software tool called an RSS aggregator or reader is needed.

An aggregator works by scanning the worldwide web with latest postings based on the RSS code (containing the website’s URL) provided or added by the user. When it finds a new posting, news, or update, it will publish the RSS feed on your home page containing the title of the posting, which also serves as a clickable link to the website source. This RSS feed may or may not contain the whole article, a summary, and photos, depending on what RSS aggregator you are using.

Aggregators come in two types: the downloadable program or desktop-type and the online or web-based type. The desktop aggregator usually charges a certain amount for its services; this would include regular updating in the form of upgrades or patches to the original version. This type of RSS reader allows more customization of RSS feeds as well as page format or design over its on-line counterparts. But of course, price can be a drawback.

On-line or web-based aggregators are free of charge. All you need to do is register an account with them then you can start enjoying their services. Depending on the “brand” of the aggregator, customization is more limited. Some even do not allow you to customize at all.

Product and service advertisers are realizing the potential of RSS aggregators in internet marketing. In fact, several submit RSS codes to several popular web-based aggregators to reach the growing technophile and internet-based market. My Yahoo has been instrumental in popularizing RSS technology to both users and website owners and advertisers.

At present, there are many aggregators to choose from and newer versions of the same aggregator are constantly developed by its programmers.

Below are some of these desktop and online aggregators:
Desktop Aggregators
1.AmphetaDesk
Advantages:
-free
-supports Linux, Mac, and Windows
-easy addition of RSS feeds

Disadvantages:
-not maximized use of screen display
-few options for customizing

2.FeedDemon
Advantages:
-user friendly
-free trial version
-contains prepared popular feeds
-allows filtering of RSS feeds
-configurable “watch list” to manage junk RSS feeds
-search channel feature that incorporates other RSS services e.g. Feedster
-allows feed storage for future use
-tabbed browsers for channel navigation
-built-in podcast receiver

Disadvantages:
-supports only Internet Explorer (embedded)
-paid software (`$29.95)

Online Aggregators
1.Bloglines
Advantages:
-all major browsers supported (e.g. Netscape Navigator, Internet Explorer, Firefox)
-user-friendly especially for beginners
-free, web-based aggregator
-easy registration
-no advertisements
-contains its own directory of RSS feeds of thousands of websites
-personal email account for subscribing to newsletter emails (optional)
-allows privacy adjustments for personal blogs
-allows saved searches
-mobile version available
-10 languages supported
-Additional add-on tools for automated blogrolls and subscription buttons

2.NewsGator
Advantages:
-free (consumer-standard version)
-provides personalized news channel
-allows translation of RSS articles into email format
-synchronization of feeds in several devices possible
-browse and search feed capabilities save time on surfing
-allows keyword filtering
-blog headlines
-button-click automatic subscription to news feeds

Disadvantage:
-Outlook-based thus limited to Windows

3.My Yahoo
Advantages:
-Free web-based aggregator
-user-friendly
-customizable home page design
-button-click subscription to RSS feeds
-built-in directory and search tool for feeds
-wide variety of feeds e.g. news (science, technology, local), weather
-connects to all Yahoo features and services

Disadvantage
-banner advertisements

There are also lightweight RSS aggregator extensions which are actually plug-ins to existing internet browsers. An example of which is Sage aggregator.

Advantages:
-free of charge
-beginner-friendly
-reeds both RSS and Atom feeds
-allows feed discovery
-can be assimilated to Firefox bookmark (storage and live)
-allows OPML feed lists imports and exports
-customizable style sheets
-supports a wide range of locales e.g. Catalan, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, Polish, Slovenian, etc.
-easy installation

Disadvantages:
-good for about 12 RSS feeds
-limited use to Mozilla-Firefox and Mozilla-Firefox supported browsers

RSS developers promise better features in future versions of their aggregators. Microsoft is planning to include a built-in aggregator in their next Windows version. These developments are definitely something to look forward to by all internet aficionados.

www.UnderGroundTrainingLab.com In early 2008 I spoke at the Secret Society of Traffic and Conversion Seminar for my friends Buck Rizvi and Brock Felt. The attendees paid thousands to be there but I’m sharing my 3 hour presentation from the seminar with you for free. I outlined the social networking and web 2.0 strategies that I personally use to drive tons of traffic to build my list and make more sales. I covered dozens of topics including, but not limited to, internet marketing, creating a …

Submitting RSS feeds to RSS directories can be a real pain for webmasters or business owners who use RSS feeds to make regular product announcements or promotional offers. When RSS technology first appeared on the internet in the late 90s, the usage is pretty limited. As time passes, RSS feeds have gained much momentum as content syndication becomes a widely accepted means to update web content. Letâ??s explore the use of RSS feeds and why you should be using RSS submission software to submit RSS feeds.

RSS is the abbreviation or acronym of Really Simple Syndication. RSS feeds are in XML file format which are not readable in its raw form. In order for you to view the content of the RSS feeds, you would need a reader or aggregator to do so. There are many online readers such as My Yahoo, Bloglines, NewsGator etc.

RSS feeds are primarily created to offer dynamic content, ie content that is fresh and updated. As you can see, many news press are using RSS feeds to provide their readers with the latest news in the stock market, sports and world news. Commercial companies offer feeds to subscribers as a means to announce new products, company news, or as an advertising channel. Webmasters use RSS feeds on their websites so that visitors can always read about the latest developments in the web topic or niche such as medical, internet marketing or even stock movements.

Webmasters can build RSS feeds from their web pages and submit RSS feeds to specific niche RSS directories for distribution. This is an excellent way to reach targeted audiences and gain significant traffic. Search engines are not the only places to grab free traffic. When webmasters list their RSS feeds in the RSS feed directories, visitors to these directories may like what they are reading and visit the parent websites. On another note, interesting feeds may be syndicated by fellow webmasters in the same niche. This is invaluable since you would be getting traffic from their websites as well as get some one-way links. We all know that this would have a positive impact on your search engine ranking.

If you are not using RSS feeds to promote your website, you are really losing out to your competitors. That said, it can be a lengthy process to submit RSS feeds for inclusion in the news or RSS feeds directories. Increasingly more webmasters are turning to RSS submission software as a solution to submit RSS feeds.

Letâ??s use a simple example to illustrate the benefits. Imagine that your income is 30 dollars per hour, and you need to spend about 3-5 hours to manually submit RSS feeds to about 50 â?? 60 feed directories. The time you lost is worth more than 100 dollars to you each time you submit a RSS feed. Multiply that by the number of websites you have and it is easy to understand why it is more economical to use RSS submission software to submit RSS feeds. Visit my blog to read more about RSS feed submission and popular and affordable RSS submission software webmasters have in their toolkit.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

Why do people submit RSS feeds? Surely there must be reasons behind them doing so faithfully. Webmasters submit RSS feeds when they update their website with new web pages or build new websites, while companies do so when new products enter the market. The one sole purpose is to drive traffic, or get visitors to their websites.

Where does the traffic come from? We need to understand how RSS feeds work so as to appreciate the whole mechanism of deriving traffic. RSS is simply put, Really Simple Syndication and in XML format. These are files that need to be parsed or read using aggregators or RSS readers.

Before you get drown in a complex myriad of terminology, I will explain things in simple digestible language. RSS feeds essentially displays news or content that refreshes and updates itself whenever the source is updated. Try to imagine that your website is a TV set, and each TV channel is an RSS feed. Each time the channel changes, we see a different image or content on your TV. The same goes for RSS feeds.

People use feeds to convey messages and bring news about finance, stocks, weather, entertainment, latest product reviews, shopping discounts etc to targeted audience. Webmasters can submit RSS feeds to RSS feed directories for free. Such an activity brings significant benefits:

1. Content Syndication

Webmasters are always hungry for unique content. RSS feeds are useful for content management and because content delivery is instantaneous without the need to dabble with and modify their web pages, it’s the choice content source of many websites today. They essentially find their feeds at RSS feed directories, either in general or niche topics. This is one main reason why it makes perfect sense to deposit or submit RSS feeds to these directories. Envisage the kind of traffic your website would receive if your feed is published on other websites in the same theme as yours.

2. Link Popularity

Did you know that you can build RSS feeds and incorporate your links to your websites? If your feed is displayed on another website, that is an additional backlink for you. This has a positive effect on your link popularity in time to come. Download RSS Builder, a freeware to try building an RSS feed of your web page. Submit RSS feeds after that.

3. Build Credibility

Almost all successful webmasters regularly submit RSS feeds of their websites. Since RSS feeds are popular, invest more time in creating news worthy information on your website before distributing the RSS feeds. This would improve the chances of getting your feeds syndicated on popular and authority websites. You can establish yourself as an expert and build credibility in the long run. Credibility is invaluable in business as people would entrust their money to you, ie purchase your products.

4. Content Delivery and Notifications

Subscribers of RSS feed directories would get occasion notifications about the latest RSS feeds available. Submit RSS feeds from time to time, and be a regular contributor of useful feed content. You would pick up many loyal fans along the way as people start book marking your website as their regular content source.

Expert webmasters understand the power of RSS feeds and more so, the importance of distributing feeds to as many directories as possible for explosive impact. Find out what secret tools they are using to submit RSS feeds to feed directories faster and reach more targeted audience.

This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.

www.UndergroundTrainingLab.com In early 2008 I spoke at the Secret Society of Traffic and Conversion Seminar for my friends Buck Rizvi and Brock Felt. The attendees paid thousands to be there but I’m sharing my 3 hour presentation from the seminar with you for free. I outlined the social networking and web 2.0 strategies that I personally use to drive tons of traffic to build my list and make more sales. I covered dozens of topics including, but not limited to, internet marketing, creating a …

www.UndergroundTrainingLab.com In early 2008 I spoke at the Secret Society of Traffic and Conversion Seminar for my friends Buck Rizvi and Brock Felt. The attendees paid thousands to be there but I’m sharing my 3 hour presentation from the seminar with you for free. I outlined the social networking and web 2.0 strategies that I personally use to drive tons of traffic to build my list and make more sales. I covered dozens of topics including, but not limited to, internet marketing, creating a …