By S. Housley
Considering the ever-increasing support for RSS in online communities, we have compiled
a list of resources and products that will benefit webmasters, web surfers and publishers
in their quest to understand the power of RSS. RSS has rapidly become an alternative
communication venue. In order to understand the full benefits, consider utilizing
some of the following tools and resources.
1.) RSS Tools - RSS feeds bring automatically updated information
straight to your desktop. You can monitor or promote news, job listings, personals,
and classifieds using RSS. The following tools assist webmasters in using RSS to
maximize their time.
RSS Readers - RSS readers are designed as tools to view RSS feeds,
making it easier for users to view and manage the content of a feed. Feed readers
make it easy to mark feeds as read or flag items that are important. The following
are some of our favorite RSS readers:
FeedDemon - FeedDemon is a client that can retrieve and organize RSS feeds
from the Internet. It comes pre-configured with several news feeds, and you can
easily add your own by adding the URL for an RSS feed of your choice. FeedDemon
offers an attractive and easy-to-use interface with integrated web browsing.
http://www.feeddemon.com
FeedScout - Feed Scout is a RSS/ATOM/RDF reader that can be used directly
from Internet Explorer. Feed Scout enables you to view RSS/ATOM feeds from different
sites directly in Internet Explorer. You can even set your Home Page to show your
favorite feeds. http://www.feedscout.com
2.) RSS Creation Tools - As RSS feeds have increased in popularity
and breadth publishers and webmasters have struggled to find a solution to create
RSS feeds. The following tools will assist webmasters in creating RSS feeds:
FeedForAll - Desktop software used to create, edit, manage and publish RSS
feeds. New RSS feeds can be quickly and easily created with FeedForAll. Advanced
features enable you to create professional-looking RSS feeds quickly. Existing RSS
feeds can be repaired and enhanced with FeedForAll. RSS feeds generated by other
means can be automatically repaired, so that they conform to the RSS 2.0 specification.
Existing feeds can be enhanced to contain advanced feed properties, and give them
a more professional look.
http://www.feedforall.com
3.) RSS Articles and Tutorials - Articles and tutorials based on RSS
and designed to demystify Really Simple Syndication for users and publishers. RSS
Specifications - RSS Specifications contains a collection of articles related to
RSS and news feeds that assist both publishers and users in deciphering Really Simple
Syndication.
RSS Specifications - RSS Specifications contains a collection of articles
related to RSS and news feeds that assist both publishers and users in deciphering
really simple syndication.
http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-articles.htm or
the articles can be read in an RSS feed. http://www.rss-specifications.com/article-feed.xml
Make RSS Feeds - Step by step instructional tutorial detailing how to manually
create an RSS feed.
http://www.make-rss-feeds.com
4.) Ebay Monitoring Using RSS - Monitor online auctions for specific
items of interest. As eBay has grown it has become difficult to discern and locate
specific auction items. By using RSS tools users can easily recieve instant notification
when a specific item is being auctioned.
Free Bidding Tools - FMonitor online auctions for specific items of interest.
As eBay has grown it has become difficult to discern and locate specific auction
items. By using RSS tools users can easily receive instant notification when a specific
item is being auctioned.
http://www.freebiddingtools.com/
5.) Web Monitoring - Monitor the Internet for specific news items
or blog topics of interest. A number of free online RSS tools make web monitoring
very easy.
PubSub - Monitor the Internet for specific news items or blog topics of interest.
A number of free online RSS tools make web monitoring very easy. PubSub - Every
day, PubSub's matching engine performs billions of matches of new items against
user subscriptions. The instant a match is made, PubSub alerts the user via RSS.
PubSub monitors more than 6.5 million blogs, as well as 50,000 USENET newsgroups,
all SEC/EDGAR filings, press releases from major wire services, and FAA airport
delay alerts.
http://www.pubsub.com
Google News Monitoring Using RSS - This free online tool turns a Google news
search into an RSS feed.
http://www.justinpfister.com/gnewsfeed.php
6.) Other RSS Tools - Alternative tools for creative webmasters.
RSS2Wap - The RSS2Wap site is meant for online conversions of RSS feeds into
WML for access on WAP devices (RSS2WML, RSS WAP or RSS-to-WAP). It's free and you
can make a link on your web site.
http://www.rss2wap.com
7.) RSS Graphic Tool - Websites that have RSS feeds available use
colorful graphics as flags to indicate to web surfers that RSS feeds are available
for specific content.
RSS Graphic Tool - Websites that have RSS feeds available use colorful graphics
as flags to indicate to web surfers that RSS feeds are available for specific content.
RSS Graphic Tool - Customize RSS buttons. If you have limited time and lack artistic
abilities, use this free online RSS graphic tool to create an RSS button. The button's
color and text can be customized to suit the look and feel of your website. http://www.feedforall.com/public/rss-graphic-tool.htm
8.) Displaying RSS - Many webmasters display the contents of RSS feeds
on their web pages as a fresh source of content and information that changes on
a regular basis.
Java Options - Using Java to display RSS feeds is a very easy way to provide
dynamic content with very little effort. Unfortunately, when you use Java to display
RSS feeds, search engines do not see the feed's content, so the content is not spidered
and ultimately will not help with search engine optimization.
Quick RSS Feeds - Free online tool that allows you to simply enter the URL
of the RSS feed, define the number of items you would like displayed, and the Java
script will be automatically generated.
http://www.quickrssfeeds.com
FeedRoll -A free service for syndicating popular RSS and ATOM news feeds
on your website or blog. Select a feed, customize the design, then copy and paste
the code provided onto your page.
http://www.feedroll.com/rssviewer/
RSS to Javascript - RSS-to-JavaScript.com was designed to easily convert
any valid RSS, RDF or ATOM feed into easy-to-implement Javascript. No XML or programming
experience is necessary.
http://www.rss-to-javascript.com
PHP Options - The benefit to using a PHP script to display RSS on a website
is that the content dynamically updates but search engines see the content as static.
FeedForAll's rss2html.php - If you are technically savvy and wish to host
the script yourself, check out FeedForAll, as they have a free PHP script available
that will display RSS feeds on a website. http://www.feedforall.com/free-php-script.htm
FeedRoll Pro - A fee-based professional service that tracks statistical information
for publishers displaying feeds. FeedRoll Pro incorporates a number of display options
for publishers wishing to syndicate their content, giving users the choice of PHP
or Javascript. http://www.feedrollpro.com
RSS2HTML - Display RSS feeds by selecting layouts and color schemes on this
free resource.
http://www.rss2html.com
9.) RSS Blogs
Stay informed about the latest RSS industry news by monitoring RSS blogs.
Daily posts bring readers current news, industry announcements and general RSS information.
RSS Specifications - Everything you need to know about RSS. The RSS Specifications
blog contains daily posts and RSS tidbits.
http://www.rss-specifications.com/blog.htm
KbCafe - Daily posts and editorials related to RSS and new RSS products that
have emerged.
http://www.kbcafe.com/rss/
10.) Publishing List / RSS Newsgroups
New RSS-Publishing List for publishers. The list is focused on marketing/publishing/operational
issues rather than hardcore technical details of RSS, meaning that coding issues
and disputes over the merits of RSS vs. Atom are not the focus. If you wish to participate
in the list and receive e-mails of posts, simply subscribe by sending and e-mail
to: rsspublishing-subscribe@topica.com
RSS Syndication - Collection of RSS related news feeds displayed in an easy-to-read
format.
http://www.rss-syndication.com/rss-news.htm
11.) RSS Related Forums - Forums can be a useful for anyone doing
business online, both in terms of reading the content and actively participating
in the discussions. If you want to learn more about RSS consider participating in
the following online RSS communities:
2RSS - RSS forum for feed and related RSS discussions.
http://forum.2rss.com/
FeedForAll Forum - RSS forum for RSS and feed creation-related discussions.
http://www.feedforall.com/forum
German RSS Forum - German RSS forum for feed discussions.
http://www.rss-forum.de/
12.) Locate RSS Feeds -
RSS Locator - Directory and search engine for RSS content including weblogs,
newsfeeds, forum feeds and related content feeds. Locate topic-specific RSS feeds
for syndication. RSS Locator displays feed content in an HTML format so users can
preview the feed’s content.
http://www.rss-locator.com
Syndic8 - RSS and Atom news feeds on a wide variety of topics. Designed with
a directory structure and search functionality. Syndic8 also tracks statistical
information related to RSS feeds.
http://www.syndic8.com
RSS Discovery - The websites you already read may have an RSS feed. Use the
BlogStreet's RSS Discovery tool and enter in a website. If there is a feed available
BlogStreet will provide the URL.
http://www.blogstreet.com/rssdiscovery.html
12.) Submit RSS Feeds - As more and more people get involved with
the Internet and as more Web sites, blogs, news services and other online resources
continue to grow in number and variety, it becomes increasingly important to maintain
high visibility and exposure for the content being generated by closely following
the major distribution media. As a rapidly increasing number of content sources,
new and old, migrate or add RSS as a key distribution channel, and as more people
utilize RSS newsreaders and aggregators to keep themselves informed, the ability
to maintain high exposure and visibility is gradually shifted from complete attention
to major search engines and content optimization techniques to an increasing awareness
of RSS feed directories and search tools.
RSS Submit - Save time and automate RSS submissions with RSS Submit from
K-Soft. http://www.dummysoftware.com/rsssubmit.html
RSS Specifications - Submit RSS files to the large list of RSS directories
and expedite your RSS content syndication.
http://www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm
RSS Submission Service - A fee-based blog submission service that will submit
your blog or RSS feed to more than 70 blog directories. Submissions are done manually,
and this service is primarily designed for blog feeds.
http://rss-submission-service.notrivia.com/
RSS Top 55 - Top websites for RSS submissions. Premium service is available
for a nominal fee that will prioritize the RSS site submissions in the order of
importance. http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
http://www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55/
Using RSS tools, publishers and webmasters can increase productivity and efficiency.
RSS monitoring can often automate many of the procedures that are time-consuming
and monotonous, freeing up time.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll software for creating, editing and
publishing RSS feeds and NotePage a wireless text messaging software.
RSS Marketing Feed
