rss and bloglines
Flickr photo riginally uploaded by alexmuse.
The main event of the web used to be “Browse”. Most don’t browse anymore. Now it’s “Search”. Soon (now for some) it will be “Subscribe”.
Steve at MicroPersusaion said RSS is “turning pro” after the announcement from Microsoft in June that they are building RSS into the next release of Internet Explorer. (the photo above was on the shoe of one of the Microsoft guys)
So people are always asking what RSS is. Just this week I tried to explain it to someone. I think I finally figured out a simple way to describe it (at least I hope this is simple):
RSS is like an email. When a webpage using RSS or blog is updated, it sends a RSS feed (think email) to subscribers. People with a RSS reader (like an email client) can read the messages.
Well, if that doesn’t work, try these instead:
- RSS Feeds by IndyChritstian
- RSS for Journalists by PoynterOnline
Now that you understand what RSS is (chuckle), you should get yourself a RSS Reader. You could just use a RSS/email combo like RMail. It’ll send RSS feeds to your email. But I’ve never used it.
Instead I suggest a reader. You can get them built into your browser, a downloadable application, or a website. I’m going to plug my favorite, Bloglines.
You want something like bloglines because you’ve got a lot of blogs and websites you’re wanting to keep up with. But you just don’t have the time to get to them. After all, it’s a waste of time to check blogs just to find out they haven’t been updated.
Step 1
Go to Bloglines.com and sign up for a free account
Step 2
Click on the “My Feeds” tab. Here you see a list of the feeds (or blogs or websites) you’re subscribed to. Click on a feed and you’ll see the updates on the right.
Step 3
To add blogs you can click on the “add” link under the tabs and it’ll give you options for adding blog URLs.
Step 4 Optional
Download a notifier so you’ll know when your blogs are updated.
Step 5 Optional
Make it even easier to add blogs by adding a bookmarklet.
That’s it. Check your bloglines account when you’re ready and it’ll tell you if your favorite sites have been updated…and how many new posts are there!
I also use Bloglines to show you what I’m reading through my public showing of my Bloglines feeds.
Still confused? Sorry. Try this tutorial from betterdays. It has screenshots!
Oh, and if you’re on the go, Bloglines offers a mobile version for your phone.
This is very helpful. Another reason I listen to Rob. I think having something like Rmail would help those of us that are either too busy or forgetful or lazy to go out and find it.
Thanks again Rob for staying on the forefront of these areas.
Comment by Doug Leppard — September 26, 2005 @ 4:49 pm
[...] You know I’m a huge fan of Bloglines. Well today Google has released their version of Bloglines: Google Reader. [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » google has a rss reader — October 7, 2005 @ 2:36 pm
[...] If you don’t subscribe to feeds or have no idea what I’m talking about, please take a moment to learn more about RSS. [...]
Pingback by eMinistryNotes.com » changes afoot — October 13, 2005 @ 6:31 pm
[...] Now that you know what RSS is and how to use it, here are 10 things you can do with RSS. [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » ten things to do with rss — October 19, 2005 @ 11:24 am
[...] There are many kinds of RSS readers out there. I’m partial to a web-based service called Bloglines. I used to love my desktop application (or Windows-based) reader called SharpReader, but just like using the web better. There are others that are browser based like live bookmarks in Firefox. [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » rss for outlook: attensa — October 20, 2005 @ 9:50 am
[...] I can now extend that rhetorical question to Bloglines — my RSS reader of choice. Steve Rubel published Ten Bloglines Hacks that include: [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » bloglines hacks — November 28, 2005 @ 10:24 am
[...] Microsoft is supposed to release their upgrade to Internet Explorer later this year. Included in that release will be the ability to integrate RSS feeds better into the browser. [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » new rss icon — January 3, 2006 @ 9:38 pm
[...] Microsoft is supposed to release their upgrade to Internet Explorer later this year. Included in that release will be the ability to integrate RSS feeds better into the browser. [...]
Pingback by effective web ministry notes » New RSS Icon — January 3, 2006 @ 9:41 pm
[...] If you’re not subscribing to RSS feeds, just head over to Bloglines and get started. Here’s how and why. [...]
Pingback by rob’s place » my new photo feed — January 23, 2006 @ 11:13 pm
[...] Hello friends. Here are some photos from my trip to England. If you’ve taken digital photos, consider joining flickr. Here’s a flickr tutorial I wrote on my personal blog. Also check out another tutorial I wrote about RSS. [...]
Pingback by effective web ministry notes » Welcome Agape — February 2, 2006 @ 4:27 pm
[...] Bloglines - I (Rob) like to keep up with lots of websites but just don’t have the time to go everywhere to find out what’s new. I’d much rather go to just one site and have IT tell me of all the sites I want to follow, what’s new. That’s what Bloglines does. I’ve subscribed to almost 200 different RSS feeds (or websites that offer these feeds) in Bloglines and it’ll tell me of those sites, which ones has updates for me. It’s great! I wrote a tutorial for using Bloglines and a little about RSS too. [...]
Pingback by effective web ministry notes » Web 2.0: Beginning a Conversation on the future of Internet Ministry — February 11, 2006 @ 1:36 pm
[...] For more reading, check out: The New RSS Icon and RSS for Outlook using Attensa. But really, I encourage you to read this as it may answer some of your questions: About RSS and Bloglines. [...]
Pingback by orangejack blogging university » rss syndication — February 16, 2006 @ 2:20 pm
[...] Explaining RSS and Bloglines [...]
Pingback by orangejack.com :: Rob & Patricia Williams » Blog Archive » Would the Apostle Paul Blog? — March 26, 2006 @ 12:45 pm
[...] Instead I use Bloglines for reading now. Rob finally convinced me, and, indeed, it is an easier way to read blogs. [...]
Pingback by Hertzler’s Outpost » The Blogs I Read — April 17, 2006 @ 5:10 am
[...] And if you’re still not sure about this whole RSS thing, try this out. [...]
Pingback by orangejack.com :: Rob & Patricia Williams » Blog Archive » Adding Photos to Subscriptions — April 20, 2006 @ 8:50 am
[...] Explaining RSS and how to keep up with Blogs [...]
Pingback by orangejack.com :: Rob & Patricia Williams » Blog Archive » Blogs and Branding Strategy — April 26, 2006 @ 6:37 am
[...] Bloglines - Read blog feeds (RSS) efficiently [primer] [...]
Pingback by Belief, Blogging, and Beyond Resources « Superhua — August 31, 2006 @ 4:02 pm