|
What is a Web Feed?
by Felicia Williams
 It wasn't until I started coding this website (coding is web speak for creating and designing), that I paid any attention to web feeds. In my house feed is strongly associated with food. So when I heard about a web feed, I decided to do a little investigating.
Here's what I found out. First of all, if you had to ask the question "What is a web feed?", I don't think you want to know the nitty gritty details. To that end, I'm going to give you just enough information to let you sound like you know what you're talking about. Wow your friends when you're at a dinner party...until a teenager walks into the room (say your piece and change the subject - 99% of teens know way more about web feeds than I'm going to write in this article). Read and learn.
- Just what do web feeds do?
A web feed is a great way for websites to keep their readers apprised of the latest additions/changes to their website without sending out a newsletter.
- How is this done?
A file is created and posted on the website for all to see and link to. This file, created by the webmaster, is regularly updated. It normally lists each new article posted to the website along with a little (or not so little) blurb about the article to give the reader an idea as to what the article is about. Some feeds include graphics.
- How do I access a feed?
Usually you can click on the RSS or XML feed icon, or text link to same. Sites that have feeds usually put an icon or link text for subscription to their feed. Once clicked, you are brought to the RSS/XML link. You'll more than likely be brought to a page with ugly code (take a look at our feed, although some feeds are well formatted). Upon seeing the ugly code, people like you and me immediately think that we did something wrong. No, you didn't do anything wrong. You don't need to pay attention to that ugly code. What you're interested in is the URL (web address beginning with http://...), not the text on the page. You want to copy and paste the URL into your feed reader to read the feeds. Before you ask, read on...
- How can I read the feed? What is a feed reader?
If you're lucky, you can read your feeds in your web browser (that's why I use
). If you don't use Fire Fox, there are other software readers that read feeds. For those of you using a browser that does not have web feed capabilities, you can use free feed reading software at Google (you need to set up a free account), or you can do a Google search for RSS Readers (also known as aggregators). I prefer to have all of my feeds in one place. I'm no longer 20 and my memory get's a little sketchy. If my feeds are in my browser I can always find them.
This is what Tidbits and Stuff web feed looks like in Firefox.
Feeds have clickable content which allow you to go to the site to read the entire article. When the webmaster updates the file, so will your feed be updated. Pretty cool, huh?
- Is that all?
Well, there is always more. You can find out how to create a web feed for your website (that's another lesson) or you can go to other sites that give quite a bit of information.
This is a 'What Is...' article not a 'How To...' article. You now have a basic understanding of web feeds. In the near future, I'll write a 'How To' article which will explain the nitty gritty stuff. In the meanwhile, for more information check out these sites (I haven't tried any of these because I have Fire Fox, but they may be helpful to you.):
www.rssreader.com
www.pluck.com/products/rss-reader.html
reader.rocketinfo.com/desktop
 ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Felicia A. Williams is a freelance writer and webmaster of this website, Visit Hudson Valley.com and No Job for Mom.com. She also blogs about Living Green one choice at a time.
This document last modified Sunday, 02-Mar-2008 21:27:23 EST
| |
