Sure, ever since you were a kid, you liked getting mail. I remember the summers of waiting for Weekly Reader packets to be delivered to our country mailbox. Except for that nagging utility bill and his friends, we still expect things of importance to be delivered to us. Why not let that same expectation be useful in keeping up with important online news sources, like this blog?
Many blogs, wikis, and content-driven websites offer the ability to use an RSS feed to keep up with changes. Let my friends at Plain English give you the quick 3 minute run down.
RSS Feed in Plain English
Personally, I have used Google Reader with good success in teacher workshops. Easy to setup, use, and lots of online help. For myself these days, I use my mail reader program. MacMail uses an easy 'Add RSS Feeds' selection in the File menu to add the feed like any other mail drop in my inbox. Easy to see new feeds!
Regardless of the tool you use, and RSS reader will help you keep in touch with your favorite sources by letting you know there is new digital-goodness waiting for you. Go ahead, try it out. Click the RSS icon at the top right of my page.
Adding RSS to:
Many blogs, wikis, and content-driven websites offer the ability to use an RSS feed to keep up with changes. Let my friends at Plain English give you the quick 3 minute run down.
RSS Feed in Plain English
Personally, I have used Google Reader with good success in teacher workshops. Easy to setup, use, and lots of online help. For myself these days, I use my mail reader program. MacMail uses an easy 'Add RSS Feeds' selection in the File menu to add the feed like any other mail drop in my inbox. Easy to see new feeds!
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| RSS Icon |
Adding RSS to:
- Google Reader - Google's Getting Started Guide / Newbie's Guide CNET /
- Google Reader - Downloadable Getting Started Guide from AISD Educational Tech
- Mac Mail
- MS Outlook
Let's see...if I add an RSS feed button back to my blog, potential readers will be lazy and instead of following me will just click the RSS button. This would be bad.
The number of followers I have is directly proportional to my happiness as a blogger...
But you'd be reaching a larger audience, Christy! And what about the ones that follow you AND subscribe to your feed? =p
I found a website that generates the html code for a feed button that works with lots of the feed reading systems out there. It's where I made my feed button from my blog. www.feedbutton.com =)
Most blogs generate the RSS feed for you, but FeedButton and others will help make feed buttons for you. Everytime your feed reader opens, it checks the site for updates, which is a page hit for you. So, it could increase hit counts without having your throng of admirers actually hit your actual page themselves AND they still see all of you content.
I used to us Technorati to manage web stats and RSS feeds. It not only will help generate RSS Chicklets, (those cute small rectangular icons), for most reader services, but also connect you to another large audience by way of shared 'recent posts' lists.
When it's marketing that you are wanting, the more RSS services you link to the better. Just be clear that it also opens you up to more blogspam and email spiders.