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By James Mahony
Imagine the next time you join a discussion about RSS. When
you
start sharing the fascinating RSS facts below, your friends
will
be absolutely amazed.
The best course of action to take sometimes isn't clear until
you've listed and considered your alternatives. The following
paragraphs should help clue you in to what the experts think
is
significant.
What does RSS mean?
RSS may mean three different things. The original RSS (RDF
Site
Summary RSS 0.9) was developed by Dan Libby for Netscape.
After
a couple of months, they produced a simpler and easier-to-use
version called Rich Site Summary or RSS 0.91. But they later
lost interest, leaving it without an owner. As more and more
users were using RSS, Winer made an adapted version of RSS
0.91
for Userland, claiming it as his own. Later in 2005, Microsoft
developed Really Simple Syndication in relation to its Simple
Sharing Extensions.
What is RSS?
RSS is a XML file format for syndicating content and news in
the web. It is usually used by websites that constantly need
to
update their content regularly such as news websites (CNN, BBC
and Reuters) and weblogs. Since it essentially gives one’s
webpage more traffic, it is now more widely used in marketing,
web publications and virus reports. Today, large and small
websites alike are usually RSS-enabled.
For example, you’re an avid fan of baseball and you want to
share something recent about one of the players. Other than
content, you can also attach multimedia files, like videos or
pictures. By using RSS feeds, other Internet users subscribed
to RSS-enabled sites can read your “headline” for free. They
can also track for changes and updates using news aggregators,
which will be discussed later on.
How does RSS work?
To be able to use RSS, you first have to download a software
(content management system), by which XML format can be read.
The title and, excerpt of the article, and a link to the full
article are shown. Other than just text, you can also insert
multimedia files in RSS feeds like pictures, videos, mp3s and
others. Broadcatching, picturecasting, photocasting, and
podcasting are some features you can incorporate into your
feed, but will not be discussed in this article.
For users to access a RSS feed, they need to use an aggregator
or a feed reader. An aggregator searches for updates on
RSS-enabled webpages then displays it. It can either be a
standalone program or a web browser extension, depending on
your operating system. Search engines for web content
broadcasted over RSS feed are also available such as Plazoo
and
Feedster.
How can I make an RSS feed?
If you don't have accurate details regarding RSS, then you
might make a bad choice on the subject. Don't let that happen:
keep reading.
You can see that there's practical value in learning more
about
RSS. Can you think of ways to apply what's been covered so
far?
It is definitely easier to make an RSS feed if you know HTML.
If not, you could sign up for a blog (there are hundreds out
there), some of which automatically creates RSS. If you’re
using a personal webpage building system, you need to
understand more about RSS. Making an RSS feed from scratch is
relatively easy.
A RSS feed should always contain an “item”, whichever version
of RSS you might use. If you wrote about a recent event in
your
city or a book review, the contents of this article can form
an
item. An item is essentially composed of three things: a
title,
its description, and link (where they can find your webpage).
In
choosing a title and description, use something that will
describe the web content best. Although it will be easier for
you, it doesn’t follow that the title tag of your webpage and
the item title are the same.
An item will look like HTML tags. First, you need to put an
opening channel tag that defines it as an XML file. Then,
label
the tag as an item by putting after the channel tag. After
this,
you can now insert the three essentials of your item: , , and
.
Just like HTML, we need to close the tag by writing and at the
bottom.
An RSS feed that contains multiple tags looks like this:
Anne Rice’s Belinda: A Book Review
If you haven’t read any Anne Rice books yet, you will be
greeted with shocking romantic relationships forming between
unlikely characters…
allaboutbookreviews.com/belinda
Harry Potter IV: Darker with More Deaths
The recently released Harry Potter installation has proved
dark for its younger readers…
allaboutbookreviews.com/harrypotterandthehalfbloodprinc
e
Now, if you’re still having a hard time understanding these
tags, look for HTML tags tutorial to further grasp the
concept.
Have fun!
When word gets around about your command of RSS facts, others
who need to know about RSS will start to actively seek you
out.
The day will come when you can use something you read about
here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took
the time to learn more about RSS.
About The Author: James Mahony is the founder of
www.articlesforwebsitecontent.com - A site dedicated to
Article Marketing www.searchmama.com ::
www.thedomaintycoons.com
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