RSS & How to Use It (part 1)

Have you ever read an article, intended to explain RSS in simple terms that, begins well, but soon descends into confusing jargon or information overload?

If so, take heart, I was in the same place a few months ago.

Often the best way to understand something, is to use it. RSS is no exception.

So rather than try and create a definitive explanation of RSS, this article will tell you how to use it. I guarantee once you've done so, everything will that much clearer.

If a website you visit utilizes RSS, there are a number of ways it will communicate this.

The most common way is to show a little orange button with the letters XML.

Alternatively, you may see words such as "ATOM", "RSS", "Site Feed" or variations on these.

What they have in common is that they will link to a webpage that, in most browsers, looks like gibberish.

It doesn't matter one way or another, what is important is the address of the web page they link to.

To demonstrate, I will relate how to read a site feed for my website, The Nettle Blog. Don't confuse RSS with blogs (web logs). They are two separate concepts. The only reason you see them together so often, is that blogs are the perfect website to take advantage of site feeds. More on that later. Here we go?

Click on this link to go the site feed for The Nettle Blog. Ignore the content in the window, just make a note of the URL in the web address bar. It should read: http://feeds.feedburner.com/thenettle

Now you've got the web address for the site feed, keep it safe somewhere. You'll need it again in a moment.

The next step is to use an RSS reader to make sense of the site feed. There are lots of these available and if you are a heavy user you would probably want to purchase a nice piece of software.

But to begin with, start with something simple and free. Start with Bloglines.

Go to www.bloglines.com/register/ and create a new account.

From the "My Feeds" section of your account you can add new site feeds you want to keep track of.

Select "ADD", enter the URL you copied and hit "Subscribe". You can preview the results, but skip that stage for now. Select "Subscribe" again and the title of the site feed will be transferred to the left-hand window.

Well done. You have now subscribed to your first RSS feed.

To read it just click on the title and you can view all the messages in that feed within a selected time period. The feed will most likely record news related to the website the feed belongs to.

In this instance, the site feed to The Nettle Blog records each new entry to my blog. If you find something of interest, most entries have a clickable link you can follow.

Anytime you find a website you like with a site feed, make a note of the URL for that site feed and add it to your Bloglines folder.

Now comes the clever bit.

In the left-hand column of your account is an "Extras" list. Select Download Notifier and choose the correct file to download the Bloglines Notifier This file is only 100k so any half-decent connection should complete the download in just a few seconds.

If the download is successful, you should see a small, blue icon with the letter "B". Double-clicking it will short-cut you to Bloglines.

Right-click on the icon and you can adjust the settings. Specify how often you want Bloglines to check messages for you.

When Bloglines checks your site feeds and finds that one or more have been updated, a little chime will play and the Bloglines icon will show a little red marker. This means one of the feeds you have subscribed to has something new to say.

So there you have it. A spam-free, hassle-free way to keep track of websites you have an interest in. Providing of course, that they have a site feed. If they don't, ask them why not.

Part two of this article will show webmaster and ezine publishers how they can easily publish a site feed for their website and track the visitors, free of charge.

David Congreave is owner of The Nettle Ezine, the newsletter for the home business -- online.

David lives in Leeds, in the United Kingdom with his wife Leanne.

---

Blogging for Profit Using AdSense

This article is designed to teach you how to profit... Read More

What is a Business Blog?

Although Blog was the most requested word of 2004 as... Read More

#1 Mistake Most Blogs Do

As much as this might surprise most bloggers, the #1... Read More

5 Easy Ways To Use RSS On Your Site

You hear so much talk about RSS these days on... Read More

Business: Deliver Information Safely

Businesses that are not using feeds today, as part of... Read More

RSS, Feeds, and Aggregators

When you work online all the time, immersed in bits... Read More

Using RSS for Publishing and Syndication

There are two reasons why you would want to use... Read More

Blogging: A Profit Making Internet Option

Blogging is a relatively new form of communication, closely related... Read More

Top 6 Reasons for Having a RSS Feed - Come and Explore the Possibilities!

Getting traffic to your website can be hard. No one... Read More

What Blog Can Make Money?

How to blog to make money from it?Truly the whole... Read More

Do Marketers Really Need RSS?

The recent Forrester Research study, which claims that only 2%... Read More

Feeds For Small Business: Real World Examples

A merchant I was talking to the other day asked... Read More

Blogs: The Hidden Ace Up Your Sleeve

If it wasn't for my blog, I wouldn't make any... Read More

Bad Blogs Have Got To Go, Blogging Could Be Really Cool If Done Properly

There's a lot of blogs out there on the Web,... Read More

What Consumers Need To Know About RSS Feeds

Feeds are simple, really. What's even more exciting is that... Read More

The 7 Steps to Promoting Your RSS Feeds on Your Website

RSS gets 100% of your content delivered, but it's no... Read More

What Is A Blog? - A Beginners Guide to Understanding Blogs

A blog is short for weblog, which simply means a... Read More

How Direct Sales Reps Can Use Blogging

One of the tools that a smart direct sales representative... Read More

Boost your Search Engine Rankings with an RSS Feed

I'm here to teach you about how RSS Feeds can... Read More

Top 7 Reasons Why Your Business Should Use RSS

In today's online world of high-speed websites and giant portals,... Read More

See RSS Feeds from Your Website

RSS feeds have made it so convenient to gather current... Read More

Increase Traffic to Your Blog from Search Engines - The Top 5 Tips

Your favorite thing about having a blog may soon be... Read More

Why Every Artist Needs a Blog & How to Create an Artist Blog

As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More

Its A Blog, Not A Sales Letter

The recent spurt of interest in blogging has begun to... Read More

Top 10 Ways to Get People Online to Read Your Business Blog

There are many advantages of running a blog, on top... Read More

Improving Your Customer Relationship Management by Blogging

Before I address the following questions:* What is a blog?... Read More

Blog Problems

What in the world is up with the world of... Read More

Blogging Advice - Give Your Readers What They Want

Web gives a lot of exposure; weblog stabilizes the exposure... Read More

RSS Can Keep You In The Loop

When webmasters first hear about RSS they tend to concentrate... Read More

3 Overlooked Ways to Get Hundreds of Links and Prospects to Your Blog

Did you know that there are free ways that you... Read More

Article Syndication - A New Vehicle for King Content

Creating ContentNew websites are being launched daily. In order to... Read More

How to Get a Blog on the Internet

Of all people in the world I was easily one... Read More

How to Use a Blog to Dramatically Improve Your Web Business!

A blog is an online journal in which the author... Read More