Get that RSS feed!

RSS or Really Simple Syndication is what most online geeks love to tap! It allows users to share content on blogs, websites and other social networks. RSS is called a ‘feed’. It helps readers access to content that is regularly updated. Many websites and blogs include the RSS icon which lets users read content.

The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed's URI or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds. (Wikipedia)

The biggest advantage of RSS is that it allows users to stay informed about things that they want to. You can subscribe to RSS feeds of my fav blog and read posts and updates when something new comes up. Feed Reader and News Aggregators allow users to use RSS feeds from the sites of their choice whenever they want. Web-based feed readers like Bloglines, Google Reader are quite popular and simple to use. Find sites that allow you to syndicate content.

Viewing content gets easy and controlled. For instance, in my Google Reader I have subscribed to blogs, websites, articles, that I would love to read more about such as Mashable, Social Media Examiner, TechCrunch among others. You could also add keywords that interest you.

Go ahead, and subscribe to the RSS feeds of websites you simple love! Also, make sure to add one on your blog/website.
More at http://www.whatisrss.com/

Are we ready for online media?

Organizations are looking at new avenues and opting for new media. Why? The reasons are many – it is a platform that brings in one-to-one interaction, gives quick feedback and suggestions, the reach is greater, it is a personalized form of communication, it helps one to create content and play with the medium... In short, unlike the traditional medium, the new media or the online media is an interactive medium giving a lot of scope for improvement and implementation of new technology.

In today's age of communication and technology, marketers are experimenting with the web like never before. Marketers have used and established Web 1.0 as the primary step in the online space. Most internet users have been exposed to Web 1.0 and have used it and still do. For example, hyper-linking of web pages and bookmarking is a basic step of receiving, storing, and sharing information. Studies show that more than 70% users are only familiar with Web1.0. Web 2.0 helps in the retrieval of information. Wikis, podcasts, RSS feeds are some of the examples of Web 2.0. Web 3.0 is seen as the next version of Web 2.0. Here users can do anything and everything they want from a single source on the web. Unfortunately, we are still exploring Web 2.0 and have a lot to learn and explore.

Some of the Web 2.0 companies in India are Pixrat which is a photo social bookmarking website based in Bangalore, Zoho which works on calendars and spreadsheets like Google, and Bixee is a web crawler for jobs among others.

Is Web 2.0 for India? Some professionals are of the opinion that Web 2.0 is not for the Indian market. The reason being, the low internet penetration in India, the penetration being 5-7% only. Ways of accessing internet is poor in India...people either have slow broadband connections or they need to run to a cyber cafe to even check their email. Whereas in the U.S. millions of homes have broadband connection and are able to access the internet round the clock! Marketers are predicting the rise of mobile internet in India, with over 350 mobile connections in India. But the question is how many of them are GPRS-enabled ? The online medium and the idea of internet mobile is at a very nascent stage in India. Also internet users in India is low compared to U.S. where Web 2.0 has been successful. Businesses in India, need to understand the online space and how it operates...experimenting and finding new ways to tap the potential of the online space in India. Understanding the technology is the first step to adopt Web 2.0 which will help the user adopt to the change quickly. With the help of web 2.0, companies can help promote their products in the emerging markets. The Government does help organizations and start-up companies to implement Web 2.0 and its various facets to its business. With Social Media emerging in India, Web 2.0 is a big opportunity for the Indian market that businesses need to invest in.

Source:exchange4media

Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)

RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS document is called as a feed, contains the gist of the content or the whole content itself. This helps people in keeping their favorite websites on track automatically than manually.

RSS solves a problem for people who regularly use the web. It allows you to easily stay informed by retrieving the latest content from the sites you are interested in. You save time by not needing to visit each site individually. You ensure your privacy, by not needing to join each site's email newsletter. The number of sites offering RSS feeds is growing rapidly and includes big names like Yahoo News. Since RSS data is small and fast-loading, it can easily be used with services like cell phones or PDA's.

RSS is useful for web sites that are updated frequently, like:

* News sites - Lists news with title, date and descriptions
* Companies - Lists news and new products
* Calendars - Lists upcoming events and important days
* Site changes - Lists changed pages or new pages

RSS content can be read using a software called RSS reader, or an aggregator: Amphetadesk (Windows, Linux, Mac), FeedReader (Windows), and NewsGator (Windows - integrates with Outlook). The user clicks on the RSS icon that initiates the subscription process or the user subscribes to a feed's link into the reader. the reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, getting any new updates if found.
Prior to RSS 2.0, RSS 0.9, .91, .92, .93 RSS 0.94 and RSS 1.0 were used.

* Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
* RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)
* Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)

This icon was 1st used by Opera and from then on, this orange square with radio waves became the industry standard for RSS and Atom feed.

RSS READER:

1. 1st download the rssreader, then have the .net framework installed . Then Look for this XML or RSS RSS feed pictograms in news pages of websites, for example Yahoo! news or BBC news.

2. Place the mouse arrow on one of the above pictograms (in the website
you found) and click the right mouse button, then choose "Copy
Shortcut".

3. Start RssReader and go to add(+) channel/feed and then paste
(click right mouse button) the url and press ok. Add as many feeds to
this free RSS reader as you want and use it as free news aggregator.