Why are you abusing RSS

When you are involved in RSS everyday you get to see the fantastic opportunities RSS can bring to the web and how it can contribute to bettering the browsers experience and the webmasters bottom line. Unfortunately there is a dark side of RSS use.

It continues to amaze me how some webmasters always see ways to abuse new communication mediums. It is well know that email has become synonymous with spam. Email was a great communication tool when it arrived, but individuals soon started to abuse email by sending unsolicited messages to everyone with an email address. Now the same seems to be happening with RSS.

More and more webmasters are starting to use RSS to improve and maintain a good relationship with their readers. They are using RSS the correct way by keeping their readers informed and using RSS to syndicate content around the web. I talk more about this at http://www.newsniche.com/ where I help to inform and educate webmasters about RSS.

Unlike email you can't spam readers using RSS as it is a pull technology which means as a webmaster you do not have the contact details of your readers. Unfortunately as RSS is such a good tool for syndicating content it looks like some webmasters have taken that to mean all RSS content is public domain. This has lead to RSS feed being copied verbatim and reused in new feeds or republished on websites.

I know what your thinking, what exactly is my problem, that's what RSS is for. Well consider this. How would you feel if you found the contents of your feed copied word for word in another feed and also replicated on someone else's website. No problem you might be thinking, think of all the traffic it will bring to your site. No, I'm afraid all the links back to your site have been removed, in fact all reference to you has been removed. It's as if you didn't even create the content.

I am afraid this is the new scourge of the internet and it is going to affect you sooner or later. But all is not lost, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. First off I would suggest not publishing full content feeds, that is only publish part of a large article and link it back to your website. Secondly put a copyright notice in your feed. Then if someone copies it verbatim they will get the copyright notice as well, when they republish it all of there readers will know what they've been up to. Thirdly contact there publisher of your work and remind them that they are stealing copyrighted material.

If you do want to republished content from other feeds then you should contact the publisher and ask permission. When you republish the content do not remove any links and make sure the original publisher is properly attributed. This way you get free content and the author get some traffic, a fair exchange and everyone wins.

Allan is the webmaster at http://www.newsniche.com/ an RSS resource for webmasters. Learn how to use RSS to attract and retain visitors to your site.

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Google News Updated : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:49:19 GMT Wall Street, markets continue roller coaster - Bizjournals.com NEWS.com.au Wall Street, markets continue roller coaster Bizjournals.com - 2 hours ago A roller coaster week on Wall Street ended with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 128 points Friday after bouncing back from almost 700 points down in the day. Video: Wild Swings Drive Morning Trading AssociatedPress Worst Week on Wall Street Ends Down ABC News WMBB-TV - Washington Post - WMDT - NEWS.com.au all 2,033 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:29:25 GMT Conflict Resolution Marked Career of Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari - Voice of America BBC News Conflict Resolution Marked Career of Nobel Laureate Martti Ahtisaari Voice of America - 2 hours ago By Andre de Nesnera Conflict resolution marked the career of former Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari who has received this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to secure peace in various regions of the world. Video: Ex-Finland President Wins Nobel Peace Prize AssociatedPress Martti Ahtisaari gets a deserved Nobel Peace Prize for a (failed) plan Times Online The Associated Press - Sydney Morning Herald - TIME - AFP all 1,240 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 21:23:27 GMT Emptying the Pac-10 notebook - ESPN Los Angeles Times Emptying the Pac-10 notebook ESPN - 1 hour ago USC is a perfect 8-0 vs ASU this decade, last losing to the Sun Devils in 1999. Over the 8 wins, USC has averaged 39.8 PPG. The Trojans are going for their 400th victory at the Coliseum. Trojans sense an opportunity with Arizona State Los Angeles Times USC, ASU to avoid second Pac-10 loss International Herald Tribune AZ Central.com - East Valley Tribune - Arizona Republic - Examiner.com all 266 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:31:02 GMT John McCain, Barack Obama on healthcare - Los Angeles Times Seattle Post Intelligencer John McCain, Barack Obama on healthcare Los Angeles Times - 21 minutes ago How workable are the presidential candidates' health reform plans? Here's a summary of their proposals and a list of online resources for more information. In this economy, don't count on comprehensive health reform Chicago Tribune Fact Check: Would Obama fine businesses that don't offer health care? CNN Political Ticker The New American - The Associated Press - MarketWatch - NJBIZ all 1,686 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:27:40 GMT GOP Alleges Nonprofit Voter Fraud - CBS News Boston Globe GOP Alleges Nonprofit Voter Fraud CBS News - 27 minutes ago (CBS) This week Sen. John McCain and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, went after one of the nation's leading voter registration groups which focuses its efforts minorities and low-income families and now being investigated for voter fraud. McCain Campaign Calls for Investigation of ACORN-Obama Ties Washington Post Voter fraud accusations mar presidential campaign The Associated Press New York Times - AFP - Chicago Tribune - Huffington Post all 1,109 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:21:41 GMT Notes on a Milk Scandal - Wall Street Journal Canada.com Notes on a Milk Scandal Wall Street Journal - 5 hours ago By JOSEPH STERNBERG | FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ASIA It's a question I'd never expected to spend much time thinking about. France pulls tainted Chinese food BBC News Tainted milk prompts new Chinese standards United Press International Voice of America - The Associated Press - Xinhua - RedOrbit all 2,270 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:28:15 GMT Two Banks in Midwest Fail - Wall Street Journal WWJ Two Banks in Midwest Fail Wall Street Journal - 35 minutes ago By JEFF BATER WASHINGTON -- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Friday announced the closings of two banks, bringing to 15 the number of federally insured banks that have failed this year. Two banks fold, bringing total to 15 failures this year MarketWatch Regulators shut small banks in Mich., Ill. Forbes Bloomberg - Reuters - Detroit Free Press - WWJ all 37 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 23:14:00 GMT Add RSS Feeds To My Web Pages Increased Website Traffic

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