RSS for Bloggers

by: Judy Webb

While syndication has many applications, we will deal specifically with its use for blog content and some technical information will be included at the end of this article.

If you have any interest in blogs or weblogs as a publishing format, then you have undoubtedly come across the term R.S.S.

Under normal conditions, the content of a web page is limited to one domain, and the visitor to it. To allow the use of content on a larger number of sites, syndication is employed.

This is where RSS comes into the equation. A site owner or blogger using his site as a pulpit for any number of topics can make his content available via RSS. Once done, his comments or content will be fed to the news aggregators for syndication/delivery to those interested in such content.

What is RSS?
"RSS" stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. It is a standard for publishing regular updates to
web-based content.

It is a simple technology for sharing and distributing content like data, news headlines and other web page content with other webmasters and users.

RSS is like email in that it is used to collect and deliver content you have opted to receive. News aggregators collect the "feeds"(syndicated content) from a blog and publish it. If you have an RSS Reader you can subscribe to the ‘feed’ and receive current up to date content from your favorite content source.

Using this standard, a blog owner/web publisher can provide updates, such as the latest news headlines or weblog postings to those interested in such content.

With RSS, the blog owner could update his/her readers with new content and use RSS as a means of organizing his content into a more accessible form to the benefit of anyone wishing
to use it.

Use it, not simply read it!

Uses for RSS:
Get your site listed in search engine and RSS directories.

Use RSS to update your websites with fresh, relevant content - automatically - without writing a single word. You can turn RSS feeds into customized HTML and display the feed on your website.

One of the great benefits of displaying RSS news feeds on your website is that it boosts your position in search
engines.

RSS will automatically notify the search engine spiders that you've updated your website content.

RSS gives you a new marketing venue to display your ads, messages, and news directly onto your subscriber’s desktop! It will also build your credibility and Brand Name online – with little effort!

With RSS: If your favorite sites have RSS feeds, you can subscribe to those feeds in an RSS News Reader. The reader will automatically check all the sites you've subscribed to and show you new updated content when it is added.

Potentially hundreds of other websites can publish your news and articles. This will provide free exposure and free
traffic as a consequence.

News Reader Search – Google search of RSS News
Readers

CaRP - Show
RSS feeds on your website (Freeware)

Grooper
- takes news search results, web pages, and more, and turns them into RSS feeds. Once you have the data in RSS format, you can view it with an RSS aggregator like NetNewsWire, or use an RSS parser like CaRP to display it on a webpage.

Jawfish
- web service, which converts RSS to _JavaScript

A news aggregator is "software that periodically reads a set of news sources, in one of several XML-based formats, finds the new bits, and displays them in reverse-chronological order on a single page.

RSS is a document format that is XML-based.

RSS feed or news feed is essentially a file in RSS format.

XML is a programming language and stands for Extensible Markup Language derived from S.G.M.L. or Standard General Markup Language.

A Parser is a computer program

Want to know more about blogging? Download Blogging_Some_Questions_Answered.pdf

About the Author

Judy Webb is a marketing strategy analyst with www.EmarketingExtreme.com
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