Over the weekend I figured out how to do RSS feeds. If you look way down on the right side of this blog you’ll see a link that says “Syndicate this site (XML).” If you click on it, it tries to launch an application that doesn’t exist. The underlying link — http://tommangan.net/printsthechaff/index.rdf — can be read by a News Reader, an application designed specifically to read RSS feeds.
The way-cool thing about RSS feeds is they send a quick summary to one of these news readers, which allows you to keep updated on dozens, even hundreds, of blogs without having to click through all your bookmarks to see if the site’s been updated.
The cool thing about Movable Type is that it automatically creates these RSS feeds when you create your site. Sites using Blogger don’t have RSS unless they upgrade to Blogger Pro. So, to all you Blogger folks: Please upgrade and make my life easier. Because, you know, my comfort should be your No. 1 concern.
Here are helpful RSS-related links:
RSS FAQ — A PC World article describing it.
News gator — An RSS reader that works in Mirosoft Outlook.
NetNewsWire — A MacOS application I’m testing. Works pretty fine.
Bloglines — a Web-based RSS reader.
Syndic8 — a site for finding new RSS feeds and submitting your own feed.
RSS rocks … see for yourself.
1 comment for “The need for feed”