What is an RSS Aggregator or RSS Reader?
I keep hearing about RSS, XML and RSS feeds. I just barely have a clue what they are, but when people then start talking about RSS aggregators, what are they talking about and why would I want one? Do you use an aggregator, and if so, which one?
Ain't jargon fun? RSS is Really Simple Syndication and it's a simple data-only version of a Web page or, in the case of a weblog, Web site. Why is that interesting? Because it's then easy to write programs that track this XML formatted data stream and let you know when there's new material added to the site.
For example, if you were tracking the Ask Dave Taylor RSS data stream then when this article "went live" on my site, you'd receive notification and be able to read it within minutes of it arriving. Maybe not so critical for my tech and business Q&A, I admit, but I also track a number of different business newswires and was reading about the Proctor & Gamble acquisition of Gillette at least a day prior to my colleagues. How do I know that? Because they've told me that it was my own article on the subject (P&G buys Gillette for $57 billion, but how much is that in human terms?) that alerted them to the $54 billion transaction).
Helpful Hint: If you'd like to track an RSS feed and you have a browser with RSS support, you can click on the cute little XML button you find on many different Web sites. If your browser doesn't know what to do with that and instead shows you a cryptic page of text, you'll need an RSS reader or aggregator. Keep reading, but remember that you can also "right click" (or Ctrl-click for you Mac folks) and copy the link address to your buffer, then paste it into a 'subscribe' field in your reader.
The problem is, I don't want to check 100 RSS feeds any more than I want to visit 100 Web sites every day, and that's where aggregators come in. Whether they're standalone programs, plug-ins for your favorite Web browser or email program, or Web-based services, RSS aggregators remember your subscription list, check each site on a periodic basis, and alert you to any new articles that have been published.
If you're not thinking "wow, very cool" then you are spending too much time visiting Web sites! To scan the headlines of just a dozen sites on an hourly basis would probably be a full time job and if you need to keep abreast of your industry, as I do, then you wouldn't have any time to actually do anything, which would obviously be deleterious to your career long-term! :-)
So there are programs you can download that are RSS aggregators (or RSS readers, basically synonymous) for Windows, Mac and Linux/Unix systems. A few of the most popular are BlogExpress and FeedReader for Windows, NetNewsWire and NewsFire for Macintosh and Lifera for Linux.
Don't like having yet another application running? You can graft RSS capabilities into your Web browser (or run Firefox or Safari / Tiger, both of which have elegant built- in RSS capabilities) or your email program. Notable entries in this category are NewsGator (grafts into Microsoft Outlook on Windows), Pluck (grafts into Microsoft Internet Explorer on Windows) and Safari Menu (add-on for Apple's Safari browser that includes some RSS support).
Finally, you can subscribe to an RSS aggregator Web service which gives you a custom Web page that includes the newest information from your hand-picked RSS feeds. The highest profile solution to this is My Yahoo, which recently announced support for RSS feeds as additional personal home page information sources, though it just shows you a rolling 'latest five articles' from each source, so it doesn't work for me because I'd still be left trying to remember which I'd read or not. Other possibilities include AmphetaDesk, Bloglines, and Feedster.
Instead of those, however, I use a great Web-based product called NewsGator Online, which gives me the ability to track as many feeds as I like (fellow blogger Robert Scoble tracks over 1200 in his NewsGator Online account) along with the flexibility of keeping in sync at home, in my office and on the road.
Whichever solution you choose, I promise you that once you start traveling down the road of RSS feeds and RSS aggregators, you won't turn back. In fact, you'll find that every time you go to a Web site that you like, you'll immediately start hunting for the "syndicate" or "rss" or "xml" button. i certainly do, and I'm more plugged in now than I could ever have been in the past.
It's a rolling sea of information out there, and an RSS aggregator gives you a sail and GPS navigation system. It might just save your life out there!
Dave Taylor has been involved with the blogging community for years and is widely respected as an expert on business blogging, among other areas.
 Google News Updated : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 02:07:34 GMT Report: Samsung working to acquire SanDisk - San Jose Mercury News San Jose Mercury News - AP Samsung was reported Friday to be considering buying Milpitas-based SanDisk, whose revenue has diminished and stock has plummeted in recent months due to the saturated flash-memory market. SanDisk Shares Soar on Samsung Interest SanDisk Shares Surge as Samsung Considers Acquisition (Update3) Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:19:13 GMT Movies opening this week - San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News - By Mercury News "Burn After Reading" (R): The Coen brothers follow "No Country for Old Men" with a dark comedy about two inept gym employees who get hold of a CD-ROM containing a CIA operative's memoirs. Toronto Review: The Coen Brother's Burn After Reading Pitt Rocks to Madonna Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 20:56:32 GMT Palin and McCain’s Shotgun Marriage - New York Times
New York Times - By FRANK RICH SARAH PALIN makes John McCain look even older than he is. And he seemed more than willing to play that part on Thursday night. An Apostle of Alaska 'Sarah Palin Is Wasilla': Town Stands Behind VP Pick Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:18:29 GMT Jenkins: Murray willing to play the spoiler - San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle - (09-06) 18:24 PDT New York -- Andy Murray must feel very alone just now. He's a long way from his native Scotland. He's carrying the hopes of British tennis, but the London press would really prefer him to be English. Federer beats Djokovic to reach US Open final Split stadiums for US Open semis ruffles crowd Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:44:27 GMT Gates outacts Seinfeld in Back To The Future - CNET News
CNET News - Which is why Crispin Porter Bogusky, the agency responsible for the otherworldly new Microsoft TV spot featuring the clowning Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld, is already happy. Microsoft's Renewed Vista Strategy You Thought Vista Was Bad? Publ.Date : Sun, 07 Sep 2008 00:01:52 GMT European space probe completes asteroid fly by - Reuters
Reuters - BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Space Agency obtained on Saturday the first images of an asteroid 360 million km (224 million miles) from earth, part of a space mission which scientists hope will help them understand the origins of the planets. Rosetta spacecraft takes asteroid photos Spacecraft flies by remote asteroid, camera stops Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 14:13:31 GMT Dodgers overtake first place - MLB.com
MLB.com - By Michael Schwartz / MLB.com LOS ANGELES -- Manny Ramirez's five RBIs propelled the Dodgers into first place in the National League West for only the second day all season Saturday after a 7-2 win over the D-backs at Dodger Stadium. Ramirez, Billingsley lead streaking Dodgers into first place Dodgers move into first place Publ.Date : Sat, 06 Sep 2008 23:14:26 GMT Increase Online Traffic |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... When I saw my first blog, I wasn't impressed.The first... Read More Not long ago a blog was simply an online diary.... Read More Have you been following the explosion of RSS -- Really... Read More In this article I am going to cover some tools... Read More With the increased interest in Blogging (web Logging), many web... Read More If it wasn't for my blog, I wouldn't make any... Read More Putting up your business blog is an advantageous way of... Read More Think of a product or a service that your business... Read More I have been a blogger since September 2004 but only... Read More There seems to be a huge craze lately with everyone... Read More Blogs, the abbreviation of Web Logs (online journals), are becoming... Read More RSS streamlines communication between publishers and readers. Since RSS has... Read More Long have I been proclaiming the effectiveness of RSS as... Read More A blog is an online journal in which the author... Read More I was sitting in my local Internet Cafe yesterday, I... Read More T.V. and radio News got you down? On-line current events... Read More A lot of commotion was made some time ago when... Read More Using RSS on your website is a good way to... Read More As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is... Read More While there is a lot of debate about blogs replacing... Read More You hear so much talk about RSS these days on... Read More Blogs were originally only meant to be 'Web Logs', or... Read More Most People who Blog and Ping only use 1 Method... Read More Choosing the right blog software for your new blog requires... Read More 3 Tips to improve your RSS marketing You have... Read More
Adsense
websites
Why It Took Me So Long To Blog
Blogging for Business
RSS Round-Up: Whats Happening with Simple Syndication?
How To Republish RSS Feeds On Your Website
Comparing Free Blogging Software
Blogs: The Hidden Ace Up Your Sleeve
Strategies to Make Your Blog More Interesting
An Example of a Business Blog: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Blog
10 Benefits of Being a Blogger
Should Affiliates Really Use Blogging and Pinging To Get Indexed?
Details of Getting a Blog
Benefits to RSS
RSS more effective than email
How to Use a Blog to Dramatically Improve Your Web Business!
Starting Your Own Blog
Who needs T.V. News, Newspapers and Radio News?
RSS For Fresh Content & Better Ranking
4 Fail-Proof Ways to Increase Your RSS Subscribers
Why Every Artist Needs a Blog & How to Create an Artist Blog
Blogging for Personal Benefits
5 Easy Ways To Use RSS On Your Site
The Blog Revolution: How To Use Blogs to Generate Solid Web Profits
Do You Know The 3 Key Ways to Blog to Promote Your Online Home Based Business?
7 Tips for Choosing the Right Blog Software for Your New Blog
3 Tips to improve your RSS marketing
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
Why are you abusing RSS
When you are involved in RSS everyday you get to... Read More
What is a Blog?
Q: Not to ask a ridiculously obvious question, but what... Read More
RSS Can Keep You In The Loop
When webmasters first hear about RSS they tend to concentrate... Read More
Time Saving Uses For RSS
RSS is an underused and underappreciated technology by a majority... Read More
RSS Feeds Just Got Better!
We all know that in the world of online internet... Read More
Blogging Advice - Give Your Readers What They Want
Web gives a lot of exposure; weblog stabilizes the exposure... Read More
Why Journal Writing On The Web? Blogs Are Journals Giving Anyone An Identity, And An Awesome Forum
Journal writing used to be a private, personal experience done... Read More
5 Reasons Why Your Site Needs to Publish a News Feed
It seems like everyone is talking about RSS Feeds. They've... Read More
Fun Free Feed Tools For Both The Publisher And The Reader
As you've probably been reading, there are basically three problems... Read More
The Holy Grail that Online Advertisers, Merchants, Publishers, and Shoppers have been Looking for!
For Online Publishers/RSS Feeds users - RSS (Real Simple Syndication)... Read More
Blog Marketing: Guerrillas Stalk the Internet
Blogs, are often defined as frequent and ongoing publications of... Read More
Why Blog?
It seems everyone these days is talking about blogging. Everywhere... Read More
RSS: This Publishers Choice
RSS is the interactive communication tool being popularized by bloggers.... Read More
Creating A Basic RSS Feed For Your Site
The future of RSS Feeds and internet marketing is looking... Read More
For Wordpress users version 1.5 new feature ?Pages?
After many requests from wordpress users, the latest version of... Read More
Make Money Blogging
You have created a blog and your blog is dedicated... Read More
Blogs: Todays Internet Diary and Marketing Tool
The popular blogger.com owned by Google, Inc. has been around... Read More
Find Out How Microsofts Plans Could Make Your Subscribers Beg You for RSS Content!
Microsoft recently announced that they will be releasing a new... Read More
How Can You Use Blogs To Increase Traffic?
I am conducting my 1st customer appreciation webcast and asked... Read More
How using RSS will attract and maintain visitors
There are nowhere near the amount of webmasters using RSS... Read More
The Art of Business Blog Writing
"It is precisely minds of the first order that will... Read More
Top 9 Reasons Companies Should Blog
Below are the top 9 reasons why companies should blog.1.... Read More
How to Increase Buyers Traffic Through Writing Articles and RSS Content Syndication
Benefits of Writing Articles:1. Every Webmaster would like to publish... Read More
Top Ten Reason to Publish an Ezine AND a Blog
Blogs are the hottest thing going these days when it... Read More
Why I Use Bloglines as My Default RSS Reader
Choosing a decent RSS reader to browse and read your... Read More
Blogging, RSS & Feeds |