RSS Basics For The Online Newbie

Posted on 21. Jul, 2009 by Willie Plasencia in Blogging

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Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to Grab the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

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RSS or Really Simple Syndication

What is it?

RSS feeds are like  subscriptions to your favorite online magazine. An online magazine that you do not have to buy.

Once you subscribe to it you are a member to that online magazine for as long as that online magazine is in circulation.

For clarification…blogs with a RSS feed are my online magazines. Since most good blogs have a plethora of information, I see to it that I add it to my favorites.

Brief history of RSS

RSS was first invented in 1999 by a company called Netscape. They were trying to get into the portal business. They wanted a format that would be easy for them to get news stories and information from other sites and have them automatically added to their site. Netscape abandoned RSS soon after.

With RSS in its infancy, it got the attention of a guy named David Winer. He created modified versions and stuck with the devolepment of RSS up until 2005. Where he passed his ownership to Harvard Law School Berkman Center for Internet and Society.

How to use RSS feeds.

Most blogs will have a little orange button on the top right hand corner(example on the right) that indicates it as a RSS feed. Some blogs will  have the words Subscribe, Syndicate To This Site as a feed as well.

All of these mean the same thing.

The reason there are so many names is because there are different web syndication services. Don’t worry about this because the RSS icon is the more predominant.

By clicking on the RSS icon you are sort of bookmarking the blog. But instead it is being bookmarked onto a Feedreader.

A Feedreader is a  software that records the RSS link of your particular blog and keeps a library of all of your favorite blogs or any media content online.

As new content is added to your favorite blog, RSS will inform you. So when you periodically go to your Feedreader, all of your blogs will be there ready to be read.

I have included a video for you to see that will help you understand more.

Homework assignment…

I will always advocate blogs as being a great way to learn and acquire information. One could spend a lifetime online reading the amount of information that is available.

So as part of your homework , I suggest you search for blogs that fit your niche and add them to your Feedreader. If my blog piques your interest, please subscribe to it and make it your first RSS experience.

Dedicated to your success!

Willie Plasencia

954-234-3425

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