Blogs - RSS feed basics you need to know

What are some RSS feed basics?

You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS feed is a means of publicizing updates about websites and blogs. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website or blog source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website or blog and the link to the website or blog source.

What are the benefits of an RSS feed?...

An RSS feed gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers because it gives you the latest updates on topis such as sports, new music, a software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updated website or blog.

An RSS feed saves on surfing time because an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article. It saves the user’s time by helping a person decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

An RSS feed gives the control of subscription to the user because users are given a free-hand on which websites or blogs to subscribe in their RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide differently.

An RSS feed lessens the clutter in your inbox because although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS feeds do not use your email address to send the updates.

An RSS feed is spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

Unsubscribing from an RSS feed is hassle-free unlike email subscriptions where the user is asked questions on why they are unsubscribing and then the user would be asked to confirm unsubscribing, all you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.

An RSS feed can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who subscribe or syndicate product websites or blogs receive the latest news on products and services without the website or blog sending spam mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website or blog owner because advertising becomes targeted. Those people who are actually interested in their products are kept posted.

How do you start using an RSS feed?...

There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website or blog. There are also websites and blogs that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites and blogs. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website or blog. It scans and collects data on latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account then you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly

Scan the homepage of your target website or blog for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.

Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website or blog) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code. After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website or blog. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website or blog.

RSS feeds and Internet Marketing...

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where their intention was to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepage to contain links to websites that interest them, similar to bookmarking websites.

The application of RSS feeds to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available in the internet can now be notified in real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.

Those who intend to use RSS feeds for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with email account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times, CNN) for medium to big-scale companies. Small-time industries can also look into networking websites as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS marketing.

Clearly, RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web as well as online marketing. We can expect better RSS feed technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity increases among users and website and blog owners alike.

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