All About RSS

What is RSS?

RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”. It is a [way,method,means,technique,mode,system,approach,manner,tactic] to easily distribute a list of headlines, update notices, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] [sometimes,from time to time,every now and then,every so often,now and again,at times,on occasion] content to a wide number of people. It is used by computer programs that organize those headlines [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] notices for easy reading.
What problem does RSS solve?

[Most,The majority,Nearly all,A good number,Mainly] people are interested in [many,a lot of,lots of,numerous,countless,several,various] websites whose content changes on an [unpredictable,random,irregular,erratic,impulsive] schedule. Examples of such websites are news sites, community [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] religious organization information pages, product information pages, medical websites, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] weblogs. Repeatedly checking [each,all,every one,each one] website to see if there is any new content can be very tedious.

Email notification of changes was an early solution to this problem. Unfortunately, when you receive email notifications from [multiple,numerous,many,several,various] websites they are usually disorganized [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] can get overwhelming, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] are often mistaken for spam.

RSS is a better [way,method,means,technique,mode,system,approach,manner,tactic] to be notified of new [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] changed content. Notifications of changes to [multiple,numerous,many,several,various] websites are handled easily, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] the results are presented to you well organized [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] distinct from email.
How does RSS work?

RSS works by having the website author [maintain,preserve,keep,continue,sustain,keep up] a list of notifications on their website in a standard way. This list of notifications is called an “RSS Feed”. People who are interested in finding out the latest headlines or changes can check this list. Special computer programs called “RSS aggregators” have been developed that [automatically,routinely,repeatedly,instinctively] access the RSS feeds of websites you care about on your behalf [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] organize the results for you. (RSS feeds [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] aggregators are [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] [sometimes,from time to time,every now and then,every so often,now and again,at times,on occasion] called “RSS Channels” [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] “RSS Readers”.)

Producing an RSS feed is very simple [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] hundreds of thousands of websites now provide this feature, including major news organizations like the New York Times, the BBC, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] Reuters, as well as [many,a lot of,lots of,numerous,countless,several,various] weblogs.
What information does RSS provide?

RSS provides very [basic,essential,fundamental,necessary,central] information to do its notification. It is made up of a list of items presented in order from newest to oldest. [each,all,every one,each one] item usually consists of a simple title describing the item along with a more complete description [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] a link to a web page with the [actual,genuine,authentic] information being described. [Sometimes,From time to time,Every now and then,Every so often,Now and again,At times,On occasion] this description is the full information you want to read (such as the content of a weblog post) [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] [sometimes,from time to time,every now and then,every so often,now and again,at times,on occasion] it is just a summary.

RSS aggregator programs

Think of an RSS aggregator as just a web browser for RSS content. RSS aggregators [automatically,routinely,repeatedly,instinctively] check a series of RSS feeds for new items on an ongoing basis, making it is possible to keep track of changes to [multiple,numerous,many,several,various] websites without needing to tediously read [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] re-read [each,all,every one,each one] of the websites yourself. They detect the additions [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] present them all together to you in a [compact,dense,solid] [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] useful manner. If the title [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] description of an item are of interest, the link can be used to quickly bring the related web page up for reading.

How do I find out if a website has an RSS feed?

It is getting more [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] more common for websites to have RSS feeds. They usually indicate the existence of the feed on the home page or main news page with a link to “RSS”, or [sometimes,from time to time,every now and then,every so often,now and again,at times,on occasion] by displaying an orange button with the letters “XML” or “RSS”. RSS feeds are [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] often found via a “Syndicate This” link. Text “RSS” links [sometimes,from time to time,every now and then,every so often,now and again,at times,on occasion] (there are lots of variations) point to a web page explaining the nature of the RSS feeds provided [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] how to find them. The buttons are often linked directly to the RSS feed file itself.

Once you know the URL of an RSS feed, you can provide that address to an RSS aggregator program [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] have the aggregator monitor the feed for you. [Many,A lot of,Lots of,Numerous,Countless,Several,Various] RSS aggregators come preconfigured with a list to choose from of RSS feed URLs for popular news websites.
How is the RSS feed file produced?

Unless you are maintaining a website or want to create your own RSS feed for some other purpose, how the RSS feed is produced should not be of concern [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] you may skip this section.

The special XML-format file that makes up an RSS feed is usually created in one of a variety of ways.

[Most,The majority,Nearly all,A good number,Mainly] large news websites [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] [most,the majority,nearly all,a good number,mainly] weblogs are maintained using special “content management” programs. Authors add their stories [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] postings to the website by interacting with those programs [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] use the program’s “publish” facility to create the HTML files that make up the website. Those programs often [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] can update the RSS feed XML file at the same time, adding an item referring to the new story or post, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] removing less recent items. Blog creation tools like Blogger, LiveJournal, Movable Type, [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] Radio [automatically,routinely,repeatedly,instinctively] create feeds.

Websites that are produced in a more custom manner, such as with Macromedia Dreamweaver or a simple text editor, usually do not [automatically,routinely,repeatedly,instinctively] create RSS feeds. Authors of such websites either [maintain,preserve,keep,continue,sustain,keep up] the XML files by hand, just as they do the website itself, or use a tool such as Software Garden, Inc.’s ListGarden program to [maintain,preserve,keep,continue,sustain,keep up] it. There are [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] services that [periodically,every so often,occasionally,once in a while,at times,from time to time] read requested websites themselves [and,plus,in addition to,as well as,also,then] try to [automatically,routinely,repeatedly,instinctively] determine changes (this is [most,the majority,nearly all,a good number,mainly] reliable for websites with a somewhat regular news-like format), or that let you create RSS feed XML files that are hosted by that service provider.

how can i make money with rss?

2 Responses

Stay in touch with the conversation, subscribe to the RSS feed for comments on this post.

1. 

   Equity Release Calculator

   What’s the difference between a girlfriend and a wife? 45 lbs.

   March 3, 2010 at 3:10 am
2. 

   Lorina Trautmann

   Here is a excellent blog about lots of traffic from Twitter with your WordPress based websites. Here it is: http://www.wordpressrobot.com/5-steps-to-becoming-highly-infectious-on-twitter You can use unlimited Twitter accounts to tweet from and use proxy IP’s if you want. This will absolutely bring in tons of visitors via Twitter to all your WordPress blogs. All completely automatic!

   May 17, 2010 at 6:44 pm

Site Optimization by PHP Speedy