How To Add RSS Feed Content To Your Blog

For those of you who don't know, RSS today stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It's a type of web feed that's used to publish updates.

The basics of RSS date back 14 years ago ý and the concept didn't even barely catch on until 1999 or so when Netscape created their "RDF Site Summary" (RSS 0.9) ý which lasted only four months until they updated and tweaked it into a: "Rich Site Summary." (RSS 0.91) In a bit of oddness, one year later an independent and non-commercial working group updated RSS again, calling it... "RDF Site Summary" (RSS 1.0) The world moved on, and time flowed. Two whole years later a breakthrough came and the RSS that we know today--"Really Simple Syndication" (RSS 2.0) was born ý and it's the RSS the web 2.0-savvy generation knows and loves.

You can start the process of adding RSS feeds to your blog by looking for something called an RSS feed aggregator or reader. Adding RSS feeds to your blog is pretty simple, even for those unfamiliar with XML. The feed aggregator will collect RSS feeds collectrf and create a code that you can use to display these feeds on your blog. When these feeds are updated, your blog feed willself-update to fit the latest site or blog update.

The easiest way to get started is by trying out a trial version of an RSS feed reader or using a free version. Once you have your feed reader installed, you will want to begin looking for related feeds for when you begin adding RSS feeds to your blog. Try Yahoo News, Google News, and blog search engines to find topics that match your audience's interests. RSS feeds can add fresh content successfully to any type of blog ý you can add freelance projects, jobs, industry-related news, advice columns, horoscopes, press releases, and other up-to-the-minute content without doing any researching at all. The only researching you'll need to do is find the websites that have an RSS newsfeed. How can you find out if the content is feed-ready? You need to look for the RSS newsfeed symbol, or find the link that says ýsyndicate thisý.

When you select a given feed, choose for the website to send you to a page with XML code. Copy-and-paste the URL of this page into your aggregator. Your aggregator will then create a small piece of code that you can paste into your blog. Your blog will now always contain a new set of summaries and links will be generated by the RSS feed you added.

Adding content to your blog doesn't have to be complicated, as you can see. You just need a little Web 2.0 know-how, some search skills, and a little help from some online friends. Don't be afraid to get creative with your blog and choose some interesting topics that really stand out ý blogs are meant to be unique. And remember, blogging is a publication that is always a work in progress ý and the more focused it is, the more you cake it shine.

Melissa Brewer is the author of the Little White Ebook of Virtual Assistant Jobs, available at LittleWhiteEbook.com. She has worked as a freelance writer for the past 9 years and currently resides in Washington, DC, three miles from the Obama White House.