by Sharon Housley
With all the vast amounts of information available on the web, it is becoming more and more difficult to sort through and find what you are looking for. RSS significantly lowers the signal-to-noise ratio. RSS has the unique ability to compile information and filter it, so you only see unique and relevant content. The information superhighway has become packed with content, and those familiar with technology are using RSS to filter the content, allowing them to drill down and access only the content they want, without having to wade through all the noise.
There are very few subjects or topics that do not currently have an RSS feed available. Perhaps it might be easier to ask what can not be published using RSS? RSS is a standard format to syndicate Internet content, not just blogs or podcasts, but any type of content. Podcasting clearly shows that feeds can be media-rich, and while podcasting is generally considered a medium for entertainment, the educational value of podcasting has not been lost on many educational institutions. The business community has been a little slower to embrace the power and importance of RSS as a communication medium, but industry leaders are gradually adopting it as a new and powerful method of communication. But back to the original point… RSS can deliver virtually any type of content, including spreadsheets, power point applications, database updates, video tutorial, and much more. The true value of RSS feeds is that the subscriber can review and evaluate the information at a time and place of their own choosing.
There are a number of ways that businesses can make use of RSS feeds…
Automated Generated Feeds (like ego-searches)
Google, Yahoo, and many Blog search engines can automate the generation of RSS feeds, often based on a keyword or keyword phrase. Each time the keyword appears in a search result, the RSS feed is updated. This is a great way for businesses to keep updated on industry news, competitors, or even their own company, personnel, and brands.
Manually Generated RSS Feeds
Webmasters can create targeted RSS feeds that contain unique and targeted content. The RSS feeds can be manually created by webmasters to target specific types of content.
Existing Feeds
Webmasters and publishers can often use existing RSS feeds to create web content. Existing RSS feeds can be merged and filtered to create new RSS feeds and content. The new merged or filtered RSS feeds can then be republished or displayed on a website. There are a number of free tools and tutorials available to assist webmasters in merging, filtering, and displaying the contents of a web feed.
Link to Display RSS Feeds – www.feedforall.com/displaying-rss.htm
Database Feeds
Publishers and webmasters can extract information from a database, and then provide that content via an RSS feed. The information contained in such an RSS feed is dynamically updated as the content of the database changes.
While RSS is a great tool for businesses, it is important to respect copyrights. Do not assume that any content contained in someone else’s RSS feed is free for you to publish. It is important to review any usage policies of the RSS feed’s original publisher before syndicating the content contained in the RSS feed.
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Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll www.feedforall.com/ software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for RecordForAll www.recordforall.com/ audio recording and editing software.
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