I have mentioned to a few people here, and seen a few posts about cluttered emails and the like due to blog subscriptions, that there is an easier way to do keep up with their buddies and news. I have also had people ask me how I keep up with so many different websites. I am going to show you, and maybe help you to create your own "newswire" and blog subscription feed, using RSS and a free online service called newsgator. Other RSS feed collectors are out there, but I find this one easy, and like I said, its free. First, for those of you who don't know what RSS is, Here is some from the Wikipedia entry...
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, which is called a "feed," "web feed," or "channel," contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.
RSS content can be read using software called an "RSS reader," "feed reader" or an "aggregator." The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user's subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds.
The initials "RSS" are used to refer to the following formats:
Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)
Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats.
This picture is common for sites with RSS, and you can usually just click on the picture.
On Blogster and some other sites, in the bottom left corner, it is represented by this...
When you click on the RSS button or XML, you get this something like this in the address bar, using my site as an example..
http://ekyprogressive.blogster.com/blog_articles.rss
http://ekyprogressive.blogster.com/blog_articles.xml
Now, once you have a RSS feed collector account, such as newsgator, which you can join by clicking below...
Then you can begin adding feeds. On newsgator, at the top of the page, you will see a bar like this. simply click "add feeds".
Then this will pop up...
If you have the RSS or XML address bar link, like the examples I gave from my own site, then you click "URL & Import" and this will pop up...
In "Feed URL" you put the rss or xml website address there, and hit add, then boom, you have a constantly updated feed to someone's blog, or a news service. On mine, I have the NYT, Washington Post, blogster friends who's blogs I read, the AP, Reuters, and many more. Some I had to go to the website and find the RSS icon, others, newsgator found for me. This is what the blogster's feed looks like, using Whereabouts feed for my example...
Clicking on titles opens the page up in new windows for you. These update frequently, so you stay "up to date" on whatever you have added as a "feed".
I hope this may help some of you with cluttered emails or who likes to keep their eyes on several blogsters and/or news sources. It makes it all much easier, putting it all on one site for you.
13 comments on An Easier Way to Subscibe & Stay Informed.
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I'm still struggling to get subscribed to your other site!!![LOL]
AJ
BTW, Blogster posts for us many of our comments and articles under our URL on the Internet. They include a link to access all your Blogster output.
I didn't realize that anybody took me seriously enough to do that.[BLUSH]