Re: FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part II.

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:18:11 GMT

Found the other really clear RSS Feed - RSS Feeds explanation in the Gaia Networking - Enhance Your Gaia Community Experience group:

http://pods.gaia.com/z_network/discussions/view/282133#284314

Blessings, OM Bastet

Re: FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part I.

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 20:08:02 GMT

Item #5 in the above list is now obsolete-disabled.

Also there is another excellent RSS Feeds for Dummies discussion somewhere else but I forget where right now, and will post when I remember. It's in this Group or in Gaia Networking Group.

Blessings, OM Bastet

FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part I.

http://ADLIAC.gaia.com — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:26:42 GMT

Here is Part I, my learnings so far. Part II later.

An RSS Feed is like a cross between a magazine/periodical subscription and a library card. You have to request/order it, but it is not delivered to your door, you have to go get it like getting a book from the library if you have a library card. An RSS Feed requests certain periodically flowing/updated information from the Web, and you go get it when you are ready to receive it.

Another way I understand RSS feeds is kinda like having a standing reservation at the library (the RSS-output-enabled website) for the most recently published materials (items) available in that category (the subject of the RSS feed itself.) Your aggregator [defined next paragraph] makes periodic requests for the newest items, and the RSS-output-enabled website responds by making available what is newer than what it already has made available to the aggregator in response to the aggregator's previous requests.

As I understand it, RSS Feed information is not like emailed to each individual and sits on their ISP's server. When you subscribe to a Feed from a website, the info is made available to (not SENT to) an "aggregator," ["to aggregate" means "to collect or gather"] which in my case is my browser, IE 7, but can be an independent service. Then you tell the aggregator to go get the info from the original website, when you are ready to read it. The info is never actually put out or published, you go get it, but you can get it only if you have a subscription AND an aggregator which is kinda like a gateway or library card. People who want to get their info OUT to the world love RSS Feeds, because it is simple and easy for them. No mailing lists!!!! And people who want information IN like RSS Feeds because it doesn't clutter your Inbox of email, you go get it when you want. Maybe like having a PO Box instead of home mail delivery!!

Your entry to the world of RSS Feeds is an icon on the toolbar at the top of your browser pages--if your browser is sufficiently up-to-date. It is sometimes orange and sometimes gray. It is a small square with rounded corners. In the lower left is a white dot, and two white arcs "go out from the dot toward the upper right." When the icon is gray, RSS Feed stuff is irrelevant on the page you are on. When the icon is orange, the door to the world of RSS Feed information is OPEN!!!!!

I recommend doing all the following five activities to further your education about RSS Feeds:

1. Start your education here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_Feeds (other languages than English, slightly different address for wikipedia.)

2. In each of the following pods on Zaadz, do a Search This Pod for "RSS Feed" or "RSS Feeds" and read up.

http://pods.zaadz.com/thinktank

http://pods.zaadz.com/zaadz_support

http://pods.zaadz.com/how_tos_and_faqs

3. Be alert to the color of the RSS Feed icon on your toolbar as you wander around the Internet, and whenever the icon shows orange on any page, within Zaadz or anywhere you are on the Internet, click on it. It's OK, you will not be automatically subscribing to anything. You will just see information displayed. This habit of just opening the door and looking in will enable you to run across a lot of cool stuff. One thing I learned is that the title of an article or item displayed is a link to the original item; otherwise you go nuts wondering where the heck the item being displayed came from. So just keep clicking and looking and getting an idea of what is available as RSS Feed information.

4. In Zaadz, go to someone's blog you want to be reading regularly, and click on Feed under Subscriptions. This will give you the experience of dealing with an RSS Feed. You might also figure out how to subscribe to an RSS Feed from some other site of interest. Just do a couple at first, to get used to the process. I STRONGLY URGE everyone to subscribe to a feed (or notification) of the Zaadz Team Blog, so you can know what's happening on the site itself. So that's a good place to begin your RSS FEED experiences!!

In Internet Explorer 7, when I subscribe to someone's Zblog, there is an offer on the screen of "Learn more about Feeds" which contains really clear and useful info, so click on that link and read. Also, during the subscription process, the dialog box in which you tell where you want the Feed to go (default: Your Favorites section) there is ANOTHER offer of info, a link which says "What's a Feed?" Click and read that too. And in a final burst of IE7's generosity of info about Feeds, after you subscribe to the blog feed, look over to the right, you will see "Mark As Read." [Uncheck that if you didn't actually finish reading the blog at this time, or I think it will be gone and not fed to you. Not sure of this yet.] Then, under that, "About Feeds." Click on that link and read that, too!!!

In Internet Explorer 7, I access my RSS Feed subscriptions by clicking on the orange star icon labelled Favorites, which subdivides into Favorites, Feeds, and History. Note that clicking on the WORD "Favorites" up in the bar with File, Edit, View, Favorites does NOT give access to the Feeds section.

I don't know yet how to delete feeds, or what happens to them after you read them. Part II will discuss that.

5. Get in the habit of clicking on the orange RSS Feed icon when you are viewing your own ZProfile, and the profile of anyone else. You'll see all the latest contributions of you or that person on the site!!! Waycool!!!!!

This is the stage I am in now, so that's all I can tell you. I have had this post checked for accuracy and usefulness, but please anyone jump in with corrections or clarifications or elaborations!! Please!!! And of course, feedback about usefulness would be groovy.

Blessings, OM Bastet

Gaia: How To's and FAQs - How To's About Gaia in General - FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part I.

Re: FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part II.

Re: FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part I.

FAQ/WHAT IS/HOW TO: RSS Feeds. Part I.