RSS Feeds 101

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Also called: XML feed, syndicated content, web feed. Podcasting is a special type of feed that is used to distribute audio files. A podcast could be music or a narration for your tour through a museum.

A feed is frequently updated content that is published on a web site or blog. The purpose of RSS is to allow the content to be distributed. If I have a standard web site or blog, I am dependent on you coming to my web site to read my new information. A feed allows me to send information to you. You control the information you receive by subscribing to the feed. A feed is typically a small piece of information on a specific topic. Instead of sending a newsletter to ALL of my clients about ALL of the software I work with, a feed allows me to send just Salesforce articles to just Salesforce users. I would compare RSS feeds to a clipping service. You're saying, "These are the topics I'm interested in. Search them out and deliver them to my reader."

This symbol tells you that the web site you're viewing offers RSS feeds.

Most subscriptions are free. A subscription will automatically pull new posts from the RSS feed and let you view them in your reader. Most readers give you the ability to tag posts for later searches. You can build your own library of information about your favorite topics.

Most readers allow you to choose to receive new posts only or posts and their comments.  The original post may be an editorial, a link to an article on the topic, a link to an interesting web site, a photo. Really anything that can go on a web site can be a post. Comments are from the visitors to the web site or blog. It could be a question to clarify something the author said in the original post. It could be an opinion, a disagreement, another perspective, etc. The whole point of blogs is to encourage discussion. The author wants to hear from you!

There are many readers available to you including Internet Explorer version 7+, Microsoft Outlook version 2007+, Google Reader, RSSReader, Snarfer, GrabIt.  Some like Outlook store the posts on your hard drive. Others like Google Reader store everything in the cloud thus saving your hard drive space and making the information available from any computer. Like any other type of software, the readers have different features and benefits. Try out two or three to find the one that suits you best.

A relatively new development in RSS is the ability to have an email subscription. (See an example on the Your Computer Lady blog.)  Instead of using a reader, a visitor can sign up to receive posts via email that will come right to their Inbox. So each Tuesday and Thursday you could automatically receive a new tip about Microsoft Office from Your Computer Lady.  If you’re marketing to an older audience who aren’t familiar with RSS Readers, this is the way for you to get in touch with them.

For your web site or blog – It’s important to offer an RSS feed to encourage your visitors to stay involved with you. Promote the feed along with your other marketing and social media efforts.  You want to build a community of people interested in what you’re saying.

For you as a professional – Sign up for feeds that give you educational or industry news. Stay on top of new products or trends.

Take a look at these sites which offer RSS feeds:

www.YourComputerLady.com

www.SourcesandDesign.com

www.npr.org National Public Radio has multiple feeds including my favorite “StoryCorps”

http://www.office.microsoft.com/ - information about Microsoft's Office Suite

http://www.webmd.com/ - medical information site

http://www.wallstreetjournal.com/- podcasts and news feed

Written by:  Pamela Bir, Your Computer Lady

As published in Sources+Design Magazine February/March 2011 Issue