Content > Feeds
Feeds

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) technology allows internet users to subscribe to websites that provide RSS feeds. The RSS feeds provide a list of content, a brief description, and a link to the webpage with the full article. For example, in addition to reading the news headlines via email, you can read the latest news through bookmarks in your web browser, or through a RSS reader.

Creating an RSS Feed

To crete an RSS Feed:

  1. Go to Content->Feeds.
  2. Click Create.
  3. Give the feed a title in the Title text box.
  4. Type a description for the feed in the Description text box.
  5. Select the Expire type. If you click the Days radio button, then you will need to specify the minimum number of messages in the feed and how many days messages will remain on this feed. If you select the Number of Messages radio button for the Expire type, then you will only need to specify the maximum number of messages in the feed.
  6. Click Save.
Tip - Both the title and description you give to your RSS feed will appear in your subscriber's RSS feed reader. Make sure that they are brief and that they both describe the content of your feed.

Assigning Messages To An RSS Feed

To assign a message to an RSS feed, click Assign to Feeds on the Message Overview page of the message you wish to assign to the feed.



Viewing Your RSS Feed In The Application

There are two different ways that you can view your RSS Feed. If you wish to view the details about your RSS Feed, then click on the name of the RSS Feed you wish to view on the Feeds Page. Here you can view the parameters you have set for the feed and any messages that are on the feed. To view the actual feed, click on the view feed iconalt       here.
 

Viewing/Reading The Actual Content of Your RSS Feed

There are 3 ways that you can read your feed:

  • Use a piece of software called a Newsreader (or Aggregator). You can use these programs to "subscribe" to feeds. The software will scan the feeds that you have subscribed to and automatically let you know when the sites have updated. Example Newsreaders are FeedDemon (Windows), Bloglines (web-based), and NetNewsWire and Shrook (Mac OS X).
  • Add it to your personal portal site - such as MyYahoo or MyMSN. Copy your Feed URL and add it as new content to your portal.
  • View your feed through your web browser. Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari both support RSS bookmarks.

Viewing The RSS Feed URL

To view the URL for your RSS feed, right click on the orange icon and choose "Copy Link Location".


This will copy your Feed URL so that you can paste into your news reader or web browser. Alternatively, click on the orange icon and your web browser will display your Feed URL in the address bar and the raw XML of your feed.

Embedding Your RSS Feed in Your Website

To embed your RSS feed in your website, you should add link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" title="RSS" href="RSS_LINK" / in the "head" tag of your website. By doing so, Mozilla Firefox will display an RSS icon on your site that allows visitors to easily subscribe to your RSS feed.

Tip - Promote your RSS feed in the same way that you promote your email newsletters - visibility on your home page, inclusion in marketing communications, etc. Also, browsers such as Firefox offer unique functionality that automatically display an icon to sites with embedded RSS feeds.

 

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