RSS Blog & RSS News

RSS Does Not Equal Blogs 01/29/2007

RSS Does Not Equal Blogs Many assume that RSS is only for syndicating the contents of blogs, nothing could be further from the truth. Blogs and online journals have rocketed to popularity in the last few years, and many bloggers use RSS as a means to distribute and syndicate their blog posts. Subscribers receive information each time the blog is updated. However this is NOT the only use for RSS. RSS can deliver any kind of content, including forum posts, discount coupons, newsletters or press releases. Blogs are just one type of information syndicated by RSS feeds. Blogs may be syndicated using RSS, but do not assume that content found in an RSS feed is from a blog. RSS Does Not Equal Blogs

My Life as an RSS Junkie 01/29/2007

My name is Kirk Biglione and I have a problem. I’m addicted to RSS. Like most addictions my problem started as innocent experimentation. I began dabbling in RSS years ago when it was still a relatively new technology. I told myself that it was a better way to keep up with the news. I rationalized that I’d save hours every day by using RSS to take a more focused approach to online reading and research. A few minutes with my feed reader was supposed to be like an hour or more of surfing the hundreds of the websites that I try to keep up with on a regular basis. RSS Addiction

Corporate Blog Payoff 01/28/2007

General Motors' auto business hasn't been great of late, but its blogging strategy is paying off handsomely. In 2006, the company's FastLane blog delivered an estimated $410,470 worth of customer insight and marketing at an approximate cost of $255,675 -- a return on investment of 67% -- according to a newly released report from Forrester Research. complete article

NEW Educational RSS Feed Directory 01/23/2007

This is a new educational feeds directory. Publishers with educational feeds or instructional podcasts can submit their feeds to be included. Simply enter the URL of the RSS feed and select the most appropriate category for the feed or podcast.

Syndicate IQ Shuts Down 01/23/2007

Syndicate IQ has ceased operations according to a notice on its homepage.Syndicate IQ was a company that provided feed management, statistics and advertisements. Syndicate IQ competed with Pheedo and to some extent FeedBurner.

Tips on Finding Ideas for Blog Posts 01/22/2007

Not surprisingly, ideas for blog posts or RSS feed items originate or are influenced by other web content. The following are venues for finding your online muse: Tips for Blog Posts

New RSS Feed Software 01/19/2007

FeedForAll has released a new version of their RSS feed creation, editing and publishing software. The new version includes the following features: What is New: iTunes Support - Integrated support for the latest iTunes specification. Namespace Support - Full namespace support for iTunes, content, dublin core and syndication extensions. Generic support for all additional extensions Support for custom user defined extensions (namespaces). Language Support - Full unicode support, allows any languages character set to be used in the RSS feeds. Also UTF-8 support in feeds for all character sets. In program settable font support. Validation - Automatically validates feeds on open, download, save, and upload. Validation logs show errors, warnings and automatic repairs. Option to run validation check manually. Improved WYSWIG Editor - All fields that allow HTML code can now be used with the WYSWIG HTML editor. Built in live spell checking. Full support for HTML links. Full support for HTML images, including image links. Publishing - Support for multiple destination FTP servers. Automatic image upload option. Automatic enclosure upload option. Option to limit the number of items uploaded. Option to upload only current items (no future pubdates). Feed Creation Wizard - Walks users through the creation of a standard RSS feed, podcast or iTunes podcast. Easiest way to start a new RSS feed. Automatically leads into feed creation wizard. Item Creation Wizard - Walks users through the creation of new feed items. Automatically prompts users with fields for the type of feed being added (i.e. podcast). Can create multiple new items in a single session. Preview - Allows feed to be viewed in a format typical for subscribers. Multiple template support for different viewing formats. Preview now includes printer support. Stylesheets - Supports both XSL and CSS stylesheet definitions. An evaluation download is available: FeedForAll

25 Uses for RSS Feeds 01/15/2007

While I disagree that any of these are new RSS uses it really does provide a good summary of what can be done with RSS. The following list is a collection of 25 alternative uses for RSS. We hope you’ll find some of them useful. Track Specific News Headlines. Find Shopping Deals. Track Packages. Create a Calendar Feed. TV Listings Via RSS. Keep Up With Specific Emails Get Some General Knowledge On A Regular Basis. Follow Your Favorite Comics. Sports Team RSS Feeds. (note: use sports feeds to find your team feeds) Deliver Your Contacts Via RSS. Get Notified On Travel Deals. Track Job Openings. Log Referring Links To Your Site. Be A Knowledgable Citizen. Get Your City's Latest Traffic. Track Movie Openings & Reviews.   Keep Tabs On Medical Information. (note: use medical feeds to find medical feeds) Stay On Top Of Virus & Security Threats.  (note: use security protection to find security feeds) Download TV Shows. Bring Humor Into Your Life. Pull In Those Video Snippets. Sticky Notes + RSS. Track Ebay. Summary of RSS Uses

NewsGator Partners with Motorola 01/14/2007

Motorola has signed an agreement with NewsGator Technologies to mobilize RSS content for enterprises. According to the agreement, Motorola will extend NewsGator-aggregated RSS content from behind the firewall to mobile users on a broad range of devices, including the Motorola Q, Samsung BlackJack, the Palm Treo family and many other standards-based smartphones. complete article

AOL RSS Feed Directory 01/08/2007

It appears AOL has added a feed directory. It is not clear how to add feeds, but its clear they too acknowledge the RSS trend. AOL RSS Feed Directory

Reflecting on 2006 and Predicting for 2007 01/03/2007

For the most part in 2006, the world escaped Natures wrath, but people were far less kind to their neighbors. 2006 is scarred not by the winds and oceans but by political turmoil across the globe. The Middle East quagmire is the epitome of how wrong things can go, with the war in Lebanon, infighting in Palestine, Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Iraq's sectarian violence the deepest scars of 2006 were self inflicted with man being his own enemy. Of course, the Middle East is not alone with it's own self-destruction. Genocide in Chad and Sudan show how truly intolerant the human race really is. North Korea's impatience and nuclear activity have disrupted Asia. In fact, few areas of the world were left unscathed by man's ambitions in 2006. Again technology has brought the tragedies of war and the personal stories of families from the farthest corners of the earth, to the door steps of the west. Citizen journalism and Internet propagation has added a complex layer to the stories. The growth of YouTube, Blogs, Podcasting and RSS have personalized the media and given listeners and watchers a personal connection to the reports. 2006 Reflections, 2007 Predictions

What is Hot and What is Not in Technology 01/02/2007

Top 10 Winners Predicted for 2007 1. Content Filtering With web content and syndication growing at a rapid pace locating information is becoming more of a struggle for web surfers. The abundance of content has made filtering critical to time management. As a result, content filtering and solutions that help with content filtering will be winners in 2007. 2. Pesonalized Search and Vertical Search will be a winner in 2007 Search 2.0 will be all about filtering and personalized search. Niche portals with targeted focus will play in vertical search and authority sites will gain even more traction. 3. Social Bookmarking and Social Networks Social bookmarking is the new black. The collective voice has not only gained momentum but it has also attracted the most savvy web marketers. While there is still power of the collective voice, social networks and social bookmarking has gained attention, the masters behind these networks will need to stay a step ahead of the spammers to stay in the game. The danger is that the crowd, will become upset that a small group is profiting from the collective voice. The "crowd" will likely to manipulate the collective voice in 2007. 4. RSS RSS is about choice and users choosing the content they wish to subscribe. RSS' adoption will reach significant numbers and even the naysayers will be unable to ignore its success in 2007. 5. iPod / iPhone / Video iPod / iTunes Apple has found a sweet spot with its iPod and the iTunes model. Expanding the types of content consumed and the use of iPods and similar devices (ie. iPhone) will flourish. 6. Cyber Security Privacy as we once knew it will never again exist. That does not mean that webmasters should be come complacent about security. Cyber security will be a necessity in 2007. 7. Going Green Alternative energy and going green is in. Geothermal and hydroelectric power are hot, heck there is little in this field that is not heating up. Clean energy and alternative hybrid sources will prosper in 2007. 8. PodSafe Music Independent musicians who are willing to grant podcasters licensing rights will garner the interest and attention of the masses without having to go through a major record label. Opportunities will be plentiful in the area of podsafe music. 9. Videocasting - Video Podcasting Software tools and technology have made videos accessible to all. Independent artists, realtors, and sports enthusiasts are flocking to this new medium. It is expected that this growth will continue throughout the new year. 10. Online Real Estate While the real estate market is cooling down selling homes on the Internet is hot. Online Real Estate auctions on eBay showed Realtors a new way to reach a larger audience. Home buyers from across the country can use RSS and/or filtering to monitor properties as they come on the market from specific regions or zip codes. More on What is Hot and What is Not in Technology

Bloggers Get Free Laptops 01/02/2007

The blogosphere is buzzing. Some would say this is good business sense others would say its akin to bribery. Laptops that Microsoft sent free to authors of popular weblogs had the 'blogosphere' abuzz with controversy regarding the propriety of the gifts. In recent weeks Microsoft and chip-maker Advanced Micro Devices have sent Acer Ferrari laptop computers to a total of 90 bloggers so they could put the new Vista operating system through its paces, according to the US software giant. What are your thoughts? Here's what the web says: Gift Laptops Ignite Blogosphere Controversy Microsoft Says No Favorable Coverage Expected Microsoft's Laptop Giveaway Rubs Some the Wrong Way

Webmaster Resolutions for 2007 01/01/2007

New Years Resolutions Each and every year people around the world mark the first day of the New Year with resolutions. They resolve to do a wide variety of things, and while few resolutions are actually kept, the tradition is a hallmark of the holiday each year. Experts suggest that people should make lifestyle changes rather than resolutions. I am a bit more pragmatic. Tackle a task you know that you can succeed at. Do not bite off more than you can chew, and you will be one of the few who manages to keep their resolutions. Here are a few suggested resolutions for webmasters and small business owners: Webmasters Resolutions: 1. Prune Those RSS Feeds Large feeds are slow to load, its time to prune those RSS feeds and remove the old contents. Dated feed items can be archived as an HTML web page, but should be removed from the actual feed, to ensure that it loads quickly. 2. Update Copyright Notices Make an effort to update the copyright notice on your website. A current date will reassure customers that your online storefront is active. 3. Update Meta Tags Each and every web page on a website should contain a unique title and description. Update and optimize meta tags to avoid excessive use of keywords. Meta tags should be accurate and concise without redundancy and recurring words. 4. House Cleaning Update old links and remove any links that are no longer valid. HTML is a markup language and without constant maintenance it is easy to have a page with an unclosed tag. While some web browsers make allowances for poorly formed HTML, it is important to realize that not all do. Therefore, it is crucial that you take a look at the HTML behind the web page and make sure that it is properly formed. 5. Try Something New Pick a technology, be it podcasting, RSS, or social bookmarking. Resolve to try or resolve to learn something new. Businesses stagnate without innovation. Be creative and willing to experiment a little. Webmaster Resolutions for 2007

RSS Tools 12/29/2006

Learn about the latest RSS Tools, Scripts and Software. The RSS Tools website contains a myriad of tools to manage and manipulate rss feeds and news feeds.

Measure Your Blog Juice 12/28/2006

A new online tool a "Blog Juice Calculator" determines a blogs popularity. The Blog Juice Calculator compares the blogs number of BlogLines subscribers, the websites Alexa Ranking, Technorati rank and the number of  general links. The  Blog Juice Calculator is a free service from TextLinkAds.

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