This is an introductory presentation I gave on RSS in 2005.

1. Really Simple Syndication:
Creating and Reading RSS
Using Editors and Aggregators
By Jenna Moore

2. What We’re Going to Cover
What is RSS?
Why Should You Care?
Reading News Feeds
Creating News Feeds
Embedding News Feeds into Your Website

3. What is RSS?
Really Simple Syndication is an easy way to:
distribute a list of headlines or updates to a large
number of users.
simplify Web browsing by notifying you when
changes occur.
eliminate the need to check each site regularly.
What used to take an hour to check, can be done in a
few minutes.

4. Business Application
Save time getting the latest news in the
industry
Push out information about new products to
customers
Keep customers informed
Increase customer return to your website
Used by many top companies including
Microsoft, ESPN, and others

5. Terms to Know
Aggregator: A reader or service that displays RSS
output
Channel/Feed: A list of headlines for a particular
topic
Item: A headline with a link to more information
RSS 0.91, 1.0, 2.0: Versions of RSS, similar to
HTML
ATOM: A weblog syndication format that is
incompatible with RSS. Not widely supported by
readers.

6. An online aggregator
List of Channels
Click a Channel

7. Now we see the
list of available
headlines from
this channel
Click an item or
headline. Let’s try
“Save My Game”.

8. Reading RSS
Online Services: These
services let you view all of
your subscribed channels
via one website
Email Aggregators:
Send your channels to your
email
Stand-Alone Clients

9. Online Services
Bloglines
MyYahoo RSS Headlines Module
NewsGator

10. Email Readers
you subscribe: An aggregator for Microsoft Outlook
http://www.yousoftware.com/subscribe/
email.about.com: A list of email aggregators for various
platforms http://email.about.com/od/rssfeedreaders/

11. Stand-Alone Clients
SharpReader: Well organized, handles all RSS and
Atom. Requires .NET Framework http://www.sharpreader.net
Omea Reader: Integrates feeds and Web pages
http://www.jetbrains.com/omea/reader/

12. Creating Your Own RSS Feed
Simple as 1-2-3!
An RSS file is a basic
XML file
1. Create
2. Validate
3. Post
Subscribe to the URL

13. Creating RSS Files
XML File Header
RSS File Header
Channels
Items
Sample File

14. This is what our RSS
file gives us here.

15. In Bloglines we can see
the description, too

16. Editors
Online Editors
Stand-Alone Editors
Plug-ins

17. Online Editor
Webreference RSS Channel Editor
(http://www.webreference.com/cgi-
bin/perl/rssedit.pl)
Easy to use, no code needed
–
Enter your data & URL
–
Builds and displays the XML for you, just copy
–
and paste into your HTML page
Update your channel from anywhere!
–

18. Stand-Alone Editors
Tristana Writer
http://www.charlwood.com/tristana/writer/
–
Requires IE 5.5 or higher
–
Creates RSS 2.0 or ATOM
–
Can create a new feed from a web page
–
Downside: Trialware- 15 days, then you pay
–
NewzAlert Composer
http://www.afreego.com/NewzAlertComposer.php
–
Creates RSS 2.0 compliant XML
–
Organize your feeds using categories
–
New Feed Wizard helps new users create feeds immediately
–
Very easy to use
–
Downside: Trialware- 15 day trial is free, after that $29.95-49.95
–

19. Plug-in
RSS Editor
http://rsseditor.mozdev.org/
–
This is a plug-in for Mozilla FireFox
–
Works with CJK (Chinese, Japanese and Korean) characters
–
correctly
Easy to use RSS (or live bookmark) for your homepage, that
–
doesn't use a CMS.
A desktop RSS 2.0 file editor
–
Reads RSS 0.9x/1.0 files (only supports common fields for RSS
–
1.0)
Simple and intuitive user interface
–
Automatic update of quot;publication datequot; and quot;last build datequot; when
–
you input data
Downside: Publishing isn’t as simple as it appears
–

20. Embedding Newsfeeds
You can embed news feeds
for relevant topics into your
own website.
This increases the value of
your website to clients, who
can come to your website
without needing to reference
others.
Adds revolving information
Example
to your site, keeping readers
coming back.

21. How Easy!
There are many ways to embed RSS feeds
ASP
–
JavaScript
–
Others
–
The Easiest:
JavaScript RSS Box Viewer
http://p3k.org/rss/?setup=true

22. Some Feeds to Read
STC News: The STC newsfeed
ESPN: A list of sports channels from ESPN
WebMD: The Webhealth newsfeed
New York Times: A list of channels from NYT
Wired.com: A list of channels from Wired
Copy the URL for the RSS or XML page into your RSS reader.

23. Resources for More Info
RSS 2.0 Specification at
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Basic RSS Tutorial
http://rss.softwaregarden.com/aboutrss.html
Introduction to RSS for Educational Designers
http://www.downes.ca/files/RSS_Educ.htm
Info on Readers
http://allrss.com/rssreaders.html