If you ever seen an orange button on a blog, then you’ve seen a RSS feed. The orange buttons link to a RSS or Really Simple Syndication file, which is a XML-based summary of content associated with a webpage. Applications can then use these feeds to notify you when new content has been made available on that webpage.
Why use RSS Feeds?
The main benefit of RSS feeds is the aggregation of content from multiple Web sources in one place. Another benefit is that notifications of changes to multiple websites are easily handled, and the results are presented to you well organized and distinct from email. Additional advantages to using RSS feeds as opposed to email include:
· When subscribing to a feed, users do not disclose their email address, so users are not increasing their exposure to threats associated with email: spam, viruses, phishing, and identity theft.
· If users want to stop receiving news, they do not have to send an “unsubscribe” request; users can simply remove the feed from their aggregator.
· SPAM filters and email address changes are not even issues.
In addition, RSS feeds provide a simple and low cost way to get your name and content in front of new reader and remind existing readers that it’s time to pay your site another visit.
How do I use RSS feeds?
RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader” or an “aggregator”, which can be web-based or desktop-based. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds. Notable (free) web-based feed readers include Bloglines, My Yahoo!, Rojo, and FeedReader. Most major browsers such as Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer 7 allow receipts of feeds from the tool bar using Live Bookmarks, etc. Finally, there are free desktop-based feed readers, e.g. FeedDemon, NetNewsWire (Outlook plugin), and Thunderbird.
How is the RSS feed file produced?
The XML-format file that makes up an RSS feed is usually created in one of a variety of ways. Most large news websites and most weblogs are maintained using special content management systems (CMS), while blog creation tools like Blogger, LiveJournal, WordPress, TypePad and Movable Type automatically create feeds. Websites that are produced in a more custom manner, such as with Adobe Dreamweaver or a simple text editor, usually do not automatically create RSS feeds. Therefore, authors of such websites either maintain the XML files by hand, or use a tool such as Software Garden, Inc.’s ListGarden program to maintain it.