blogging 102

Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes RSS or Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary is the latest information management tool that is gradually earning popularity among web users and website owners. With RSS technology, it is possible to get the latest postings from your favorite websites. But clicking on the RSS or XML button in a homepage is not enough to give you the service you need. An RSS feed or code displayed in the pop-up screen if not on the main page is composed of symbols and words that would only make sense to advanced RSS users and computer programmers and software enthusiasts. Another software tool called an RSS aggregator or reader is needed. An aggregator works by scanning the worldwide web with latest postings based on the RSS code (containing the websites URL) provided or added by the user. When it finds a new posting, news, or update, it will publish the RSS feed on your home page containing the title of the posting, which also serves as a clickable link to the website... 

Reading time: 9 – 15 minutes Every so often I take time out of my busy Email Marketing Consulting schedule and steal an afternoon just for myself. A few months ago I decided to take one of those days. With five glorious hours ahead of me I pondered how best to enjoy my break. I really wanted to do something memorable, something that would inspire me and something that would last long after my special day was over. So I did what everyone does on an afternoon off I got a tattoo. I had never gotten a tattoo before and did not know which shops were the best but I was on an e-newsletter list of a shop called Brave Tattoo. I had joined the list while they were running a contest to win a Harley. I didnt win but stayed on the email list because I was impressed with how creative the tattoo shop was with their e-zine. There was always two or three professionally written articles about tattoos and a whole bunch of tattoo design suggestions. I really looked forward to their bi-weekly e-zine... 

Reading time: 4 – 7 minutes Nothing and a whole lot! That’s if Microsoft gets it right. First impressions appear to be very promising and all indications show a much more powerful RSS system, neatly integrated into the next version of Windows. Could this finally mean the ‘coming of age’ for RSS? But what does RSS mean to the average computer user at this moment in time? Will people get RSS? Does Microsoft have an education project on their hands with RSS? Not Really! Does DOS mean anything to you? If you’re like 95% of computer users — probably not much. But that doesn’t stop us from enjoying our computers and fully benefiting from DOS. Sometimes complete ignorance is bless. Unless you’re a techie and such technical stuff makes your heart skip a beat, knowledge of such material is not really required by the end-user. Fortunately, people don’t have to understand ‘HTML’ to enjoy the Internet. Likewise, knowledge of RSS... 

Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes Despite all the hype and fuss surrounding RSS recently, for the majority of mainstream Internet users, RSS still remains a mysterious orange button sitting on your web site. They are totally unaware of this new method of syndicating information on the web. This is not necessarily bad news! For many Internet users are enjoying the benefits of RSS while remaining totally clueless as to its function or how it works. Programs like ‘MyYahoo’ and the RSS empowered Firefox Browser are letting surfers access RSS and enjoy its major benefits without having any or no knowledge of it. In the very near future when Microsoft introduces its new RSS powered Longhorn Browser and operating system – this situation will hopefully continue. Internet users should be able to enjoy all the benefits of RSS without having to know what it is! Users don’t have to know ‘DOS’ or even ‘HTML’ to enjoy the full benefits of the Internet... 

Reading time: 5 – 8 minutes Recently, there have been many developments in the RSS arena. Changes that will make RSS a major force on the web and a dominant contributing factor to your computing experience. Online marketers should pay special attention to the RSS wildcard in any future marketing ventures. If you’re like the average surfer or computer user (you’re probably scratching your head) what the heck is RSS? Never heard of it? ‘RSS’ stand for ‘Really Simple Syndication’ and its original acronym stood for ‘Rich Site Summary’. RSS is basically just a simple code like xml or html. Truth be told, many surfers who use the web every day probably never heard of html either. However, there is one very important distinction you should realize about RSS — one fundamental difference that makes it such a revolutionary element. It changes how information is transmitted on the web, it sends out or syndicates a site’s contents....