A Quick Primer to RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
I know you see it all the time on the Net these days, but you
still don't know what the heck it is. RSS, RSS, what in the
world is RSS and what can it do for me? RSS which is an acronym for Really Simple Syndication has also
stood for Rich Site Summary. Regardless, it is an XML based
form of delivering content to the masses. One of the main
reasons why it has become so popular is the fact that it is
free (reminds of the reason why MySQL and PHP is so popular as
well). It makes it a very simple way to create a site with loads of
content without a huge knowledge of web design or html. And no,
you don't have to set up huge partnerships with big content
sites, you can just grab their information via an RSS feed and
you are up and running. Content worthy of the search engines.
RSS has been around for a few years, but it just started
getting popular in the last couple of years. There have always
been ways to deliver fresh, new content to your visitors
through the use of javascripts, but RSS is much easier which is
why it is catching on like wildfire. Don't expect it to go anywhere anytime soon. RSS is here to
stay. Long ago, people have realized that content was king, but
getting to everyone was always the problem. Enter RSS Need More Information on the History of RSS?
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rssVersionHistory HOW TO CREATE YOUR OWN RSS FEED FOR FREE It really isn't that hard to create a feed manually. If you
have a basic knowledge of HTML, then this should be a breeze
for you. It seems complicated at first, but I found some great
tutorials that can help you. How to Create an RSS Feed
http://www.downes.ca/cgi-bin/website/view.cgi?dbs=Article&key=1059503386 Make RSS Feeds
http://www.make-rss-feeds.com/making-an-rss-feed.htm Now if you would rather use software or scripts to create your
own RSS feed, then you can try out these options on our RSS
Feed Creation Software Page RSS FEED SOFTWARE FOR CREATING YOUR OWN FEEDS Now if you would rather not create the feed manually, there are
some tools to help you create your feeds. Gotta love software
automation. Here are some of the more popular picks FEEDFORALL: feed creation tool that allows webmasters to
create, edit and publish RSS feeds. http://feedforall.com LISTGARDEN RSS FEED GENERATOR PROGRAM Creates and maintains RSS feeds
Produces both XML and optional human-readable companion HTML
Open source (FREE)
Requires no knowledge of XML or the RSS data format
http://softwaregarden.com/products/listgarden/ RSS BUILDER is an easy to use FREE service to create RSS feeds
for your web site. It provides a simple interface that lets you
add topics, links and content, and then publish the RSS (v2.0)
feed to your web server with one click!
http://rss.icerocket.com/ HOW TO DISPLAY RSS FEEDS ON YOUR SITE Whether you have every intention of creating your own RSS
feeds, it is a great way to keep fresh content on your site, by
grabbing other RSS feeds. But how can you display other feeds on your site? Simple.... CARP (CACHING RSS PARSER)
RSS feeds on your webpages
Free and Paid Version Available
http://www.geckotribe.com/rss/carp/ FREE RSS TO JAVASCRIPT SERVICE
Converts any RSS feed into a Javascript code to paste on your
site. http://www.rss-to-javascript.com/ RSSlib - this library allows you to add RSS content to your
site (PHP or ASP). http://www.2rss.com/software.php This is just a quick primer on how RSS works but it will help
you to understand just how useful it is to you and to your
content. Have fun with it. The above article can be reprinted as long as the resource box below is included. Please do not plagiarize.
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