Feed me!!

[Don Chambers]

Thanks to some serious assistance, I finally have s9y styled the way I want it.

Now, can someone point me to a step-by-step guide for feeding this content out into the world? Perhaps there is a FAQ somewhere?

Also, if I have a HTML website elsewhere, is there a guide for how I go about displaying the entries from this "feed" there?

In other words, this is my first exposure to blogging. Never done it before, never had one before. My current project is just a test run, but I have something much larger in the back of my mind, so I need to learn as much as possible, in as little time, as possible!

[garvinhicking]

Hi!

Basically some info on RSS feeds is here: http://www.s9y.org/49.html

If you call your Site's RSS feed, you can see that it contains XML code. This XML code can be read by applications to show content.

If you have Site X that should show the feeds of your blog, you will need to use an application on Site X that is called "Aggregator". There are some PHP code libraries out there that allow you to read feeds; Onyx and MagPieRSS are some examples. You can then use that software to read out any RSS feed and show it on your site. This is a coding thing, so you'll need to dive into PHP coding.

Of course, some cool applications like Serendipity offer generic applications that display RSS feeds. Serendipty for example has the "Remote RSS feed" sidebar plugin that can show contents of foreign RSS feeds on your blog.

HTH,
Garvin

[Don Chambers]

1) So, everytime something changes on my serendipity site, the "feed" data is also changing automatically, and I do not have to do anything further??

2) What purpose do the various "syndicate this blog" links serve? Do I need to select those, or are they there for a visitor to select? When I click on them, I seem to just be viewing xml files, which I presume, is the feed itself. The reason I am asking about the links is that I could see those being confusing to someone (like me) who knows nothing about rss feeds, clicks on it, then sees the resulting xml page.

3) I'm using serendipity for a VERY small audience right now. It is inevitable that most of my audience is going to need an education in RSS (much like myself) and the tools to display it. What aggregators are considered best of breed, or to put it another way, which are you folks using? Although I personally use FF, I can tell most people hitting my site are doing so with IE, so they either need some kind of IE add-on (if there is such a thing), or a stand-alone app. I googled "IE aggregator" and lots of hits, just want to know what are the leading candidates.

[garvinhicking]

Hi!

1.) Absolutely correct.

2.) The links are for the visitors to select. Those are the links they need to bookmark to use within their feed readers (Thunderbird, IE7, Opera, Firefox, RSS Bandit, Newsgator, ...). The different links are for different Feed formats, so the user should select which one his feed reader can interpret best. I agree that users often don't understand what it's about; adding a link to a Wikipedia entry might help, I guess. But also I think this format will get as well received as people often know what "XML" is. But that's just my guess.

3.) You need to differentiate aggregators and feed readers. Aggregators are usually a term for server-side software that interprets feeds. Feed readers is the software that visitors should be using. I personally use RSS Bandit.

Best regards,
Garvin

[Don Chambers]

OK - the fog is starting to lift... sort of.

So, I only need an aggregator if I wish to pull in rss feeds from sources other than my own?

It looks like firefox has a live bookmark. It seemed to detect the rss feed (displays the feed logo) when I am on my site without me doing anything further. I then created the live bookmark, but I do not get the feeling that it is regularly polling the site for changes, as I have made a few, and they are not reflected in the bookmark. Anyway, does this live bookmark feature serve the same purpose as a feed reader?

I also installed a plugin called Sage for firefox... not sure I have it configured correctly. I was under the impression that readers automatically showed changes/updates, but this only seems to do it if I manually refresh.

I'll check out rss bandit shortly.... I did see something called "pluck reader". Any experience with that one?

[Don Chambers]

OK - now I'm a bit confused. Maybe someone can enlighten me. It seems there are online versions - such as Newsgator. Then there are browser plugins. 2 I have seen for FF are Sage and a newcomer Wizz RSS. RSS Bandit seems to be a standalone app - is this correct? If so, is it a replacement for a browser, or do you need to have this always running to get updated feeds???

I have not installed it - have to install .NET framework first I guess. Then there seems to be another type (example: Pluck) that installs as a browser extension, but seems to synchronize things through their website to ease feed management when someone is using more than one computer (ie, home and work).

Then there are other services... Feedster, Feedburner, Technorati..... not really sure what these do.

Can someone enlighten me on what all this stuff is? Hate to be such a noob, but if I enable a blog with rss on my tiny little site, I can guarantee it will be a source of questions and confusion.

I want to prepare myself by possibly building a FAQ for my visitors, and give them simple instructios : Here is what it is, here is what I recommend for news feeds, and here is where you can download and install it. Ideally, it should be something that is as idiot proof as possible.

[garvinhicking]

Yes, you only need an aggregator if you want a Server to display RSS Feeds. Using a Client like your machine where your browser runs on only requires a feed reader.

You are right that there are several different variations of feed readers. I prefer stand-alone applications like RSS Bandit, that constantly poll for new items and allow me to read them.

Other people prefer Sage or browser plugins.

Feedster/Feedburner/Technorati are services that search feeds and offer a central repository for virtually every blod, where you can search through them. Like Google for the Web.

You might want to search google for "RSS reader", maybe that yields the best results for you. The wikipedia also has a good entry aobut RSS.

Regards,
Garvin

[Don Chambers]

Garvin - I finally got around to comparing some of these readers. Looked at Sage, Pluck, Wizz (new), and a few others.

Absolutely NOTHING compares to RSS Bandit!! But, you already knew that. I have only installed it a short time ago, and have much to learn, but it is clear they really have their stuff together - so much so, that I need to make sure I get some links to them on my site. Like s9y - rss bandit is a top tier product. Thanks for the recommendation!!!!!!!!!!!!!



THe only thing I have yet to find is some kind of notification... I know it has rising messages (not sure what the correct term is - those notes that slowly rise from the tray area), but I have yet to find an option that enables that for new feeds.