rss feed

[Paula62]

Can someone do a basic overview of what RSS is exactly and how we might use it to our advantage? I am very slow to comprehend new stuff as it comes out, and I feel like I'm hanging on to the tailgate of RSS as it speeds down the road. Thanks.

[Gurpartap]

Quote:Want more traffic? An easy way to distribute your news? Then you need an RSS news feed. To start all you need is content you want broadcast, and one RSS text file.
What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Think of it as a distributable "What's New" for your site. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services.

Read more here:
Introduction to RSS - WebReference.com

[Paula62]

Excellent article, thanks for the link. A lot of it is still over my head, but if I just relax and trust . . . all will work out in the end.

[triumph]

What are you wanting to do with RSS Paula? Are you wanting to incorporate feeds from other sites into your site, or do you want to distirbute data from your own site (blog entries, forum posts are most common), to other sites?

[Paula62]

I'm looking at it for distribution. But was not sure if that was something I ought to do or not, because I just couldn't quite figure out what it was. I'm starting to get a better handle on it.

[triumph]

Well there are a lot of tools to distribute your content. Are you wanting to do forum posts, blog entries, articles or what? Some content is better suited to rss feeds than other, but pretty much anything can be distributed that way if you want.