Syndicating web sites with RSS feeds for dummies

by Ellen Finkelstein

Foreword by Chris Pirillo

Syndicating Web Sites

with RSS Feeds

FOR

DUMmIES‰

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Syndicating Web Sites

with RSS Feeds

FOR

DUMmIES‰

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by Ellen Finkelstein

Foreword by Chris Pirillo

Syndicating Web Sites

with RSS Feeds

FOR

DUMmIES‰

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Syndicating Web Sites with RSS Feeds For Dummies®

Published by

Wiley Publishing, Inc.

111 River Street

Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774

Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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ISBN-13: 978-0-7645-8848-8

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About the Author

Ellen Finkelstein has written numerous best-selling computer books on

AutoCAD, PowerPoint, Flash, and other topics. She writes articles on

AutoCAD and PowerPoint for Web sites, ezines, and magazines. As an Adjunct

Instructor of Management at Maharishi University of Management, she has

taught courses on Human Resources and eBusiness. Her Web site, www.ellen

finkelstein.com, offers tips and downloads for AutoCAD and PowerPoint

and that’s where you’ll find her RSS feeds. She writes at home so she can take

the casserole out of the oven on time.

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Dedication

To MMY, for teaching that communication is the process of bringing out

what’s inside me; and that inside and outside are really the same.

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Author’s Acknowledgments

This book was quite a new venture for me in terms of the topic and I was

assisted by many people who are as energized about RSS as I am. But first, I’d

like to thank Melody Layne, my Acquisitions Editor, who fought for this book

for months, because RSS wasn’t quite big enough on the radar yet. Her sup￾port made this book possible.

While I was writing this book I received able advice and help from my project

editors, Becky Huehls at the beginning and then Nancy Stevenson. Nancy’s

developmental editing helped make the book clearer and more logical. She

also kept track of numerous production details that brought this book through

to completion. John Edwards (no, not the Senator) was my copy editor. Not

only did he do a great job of correcting my grammar and punctuation, but he

made some excellent suggestions that added to the book.

I came across Jeff Barr, the owner of the well-known RSS site, Syndic8.com,

when I was preparing my proposal. He was cheerfully helpful in answering my

questions and I was grateful when he agreed to do the technical editing. Jeff

is an RSS expert and has been involved with RSS for years, before most of us

even knew it existed. His comments and corrections have immeasurably

improved this book. He even wrote me little stories of RSS lore, some of

which were very funny. Thanks, Jeff!

Chris Pirillo, the owner of the well-known Lockergnome Web site kindly wrote

an excellent foreword for the book. Chris is passionate about RSS and main￾tains one of the best RSS feeds on the subject. Chris’ excitement about RSS

shines through as he makes the case for RSS, so be sure to read the foreword.

Nita Travis was my researcher. Because I was writing on such a tight dead￾line, she was there to find me numerous Web resources related to RSS, includ￾ing RSS and blogging histories, great articles, and more. How this engineer,

turned mother of three, turned researcher (and that’s not all she does) does

it all, I don’t know, but I’m very thankful. And she does it all very well.

I became interested in RSS through the evangelism of two people: Amy Gahran

(blog.contentious.com) and Robin Good (www.masternewmedia.com). Their

infectious enthusiasm shone through and made me decide that RSS would

make a great topic for a For Dummies book. Along the way, many other people

supported me, mostly by answering my questions. Some of these people, in no

special order, were Dale Janssen (NewsletterByRSS), Rok Hrastnik (author of

the ebook Unleash the Marketing and Publishing Power of RSS ), Renee Blodgett

(Blodgett Communications), Rodney Rumford (The Info Guru, LLC), Dan

Connolly (W3C), Campbell Mander (NewzAlert Composer), and Anne Hennegar

(TimeAtlas.com). I’m sure there are more, so please excuse me if I omitted your

name. The point is that there’s a great community out there, willing to support

people who want to learn about RSS. Thanks to all of you.

Finally, I want to thank my family who put up with my constant writing. They

are always supportive.

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Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration form

located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and

Media Development

Project Editor: Nancy Stevenson

Acquisitions Editor: Melody Layne

Copy Editor: John Edwards

Technical Editor: Jeff Barr

Editorial Manager: Carol Sheehan

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Foxworth

Cartoons: Rich Tennant, www.the5thwave.com

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Maridee Ennis

Layout and Graphics: Carl Byers, Andrea Dahl,

Stephanie D. Jumper

Proofreaders: Leeann Harney, Jessica Kramer,

Joe Niesen, Carl William Pierce,

TECHBOOKS Composition Services

Indexer: TECHBOOKS Composition Services

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director

Composition Services

Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

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Contents at a Glance

Foreword....................................................................xix

Introduction ................................................................1

Part I: Controlling the Information Explosion ..................7

Chapter 1: RSS in the Communication Revolution ........................................................9

Chapter 2: Choosing an RSS Feed Reader ....................................................................31

Chapter 3: Subscribing to RSS Feeds ............................................................................45

Part II: Developing Great RSS Content ........................65

Chapter 4: Using RSS to Spread Your Blog ...................................................................67

Chapter 5: Writing for Results .......................................................................................91

Part III: Launching Your RSS Feed ............................111

Chapter 6: Creating Your First Feed ............................................................................113

Chapter 7: Creating RSS Feeds from Scratch .............................................................137

Chapter 8: Automating RSS Creation ..........................................................................159

Chapter 9: Podcasting: Adding Multimedia to RSS Feeds ........................................177

Part IV: Getting the Most Out of RSS Feeds ...............199

Chapter 10: Incorporating Best Practices ..................................................................201

Chapter 11: Promoting Your Feed ...............................................................................219

Chapter 12: Placing News Feeds on Your Web Site ...................................................231

Part V: The Part of Tens ...........................................245

Chapter 13: Ten Best RSS Readers ..............................................................................247

Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Market Your Web Site ........................................................259

Chapter 15: Ten Best RSS Resources ..........................................................................273

Appendix: Setting Up a Web Site ..............................291

Index .......................................................................305

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