What is RSS?
Do you find yourself inundated with emails? Overloaded with content? But find it hard to keep up to date with the latest information you require?
RSS is the answer.
RSS allows you to receive the latest content, delivered directly to you, without having to visit a website.
RSS stands for, 'Really Simple Syndication'.
A large number of websites provide RSS feeds, including DNN Creative Magazine. RSS allows you to identify the specific content you are interested in and have it delivered directly to you. It takes the hassle out of staying up-to-date and if you no longer wish to receive the content all you have to do is delete the RSS feed from your subscribed list.
How do I start using RSS feeds?
The first thing you need is a News Reader. This is special software mostly available for free. There are many different News Readers, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications. All allow you to display and subscribe to the RSS feeds you wish.
Once you have chosen a News Reader all you have to do is decide what content you wish to receive. You will notice that most websites split their content into categories and there is an orange RSS button next to the content.
You can subscribe to the RSS feed in various ways, dependant on your News Reader, but the most common ways are to:
- Drag the orange RSS button into your News Reader
- Right click on the RSS button, select ‘Copy Shortcut’ and paste this into your News Reader
- Click on the RSS button, this opens a window which displays the RSS feed, click in the Browser URL window, Copy the URL and paste it into your News Reader
On some websites you may also see icons related to your News Reader, in this case, all you have to do is click on the appropriate icon and it automatically adds the feed to your News Reader.
How do I get a News Reader?
There are various News Readers available with new ones appearing every day. These are available for Windows, Macintosh and Web Browsers.
Other popular News Readers are:
Windows:
Newz Crawler |
FeedDemon |
Awasu
Mac OS X:
Newsfire |
NetNewsWire
Web:
Pluck |
Bloglines |
My Yahoo! |
NewsGator
Here you can view a
full list of the various News Readers
Displaying DNN Creative Magazine Articles on your website
It is also possible to take an RSS feed and display it on your website. For instance you could display the latest tutorials, modules, resources or mp3 interviews.
We have created a free video tutorial which demonstrates
how to display an RSS feed on a DotNetNuke® portal.
Issue 3 of the magazine is completely dedicated to RSS. You can find further articles and information all related to RSS and the benefits it can bring to your website.
We supply further categories of RSS feeds than the ones listed at the top right. These categories may be more suitable and focused for the content of your website.
Click here to
view the full list of RSS feeds.