What is An RSS Feed?

by Greg Swan

What is an RSS feed?  People don’t always agree about what the letters stand for.  Really Simple Syndication is how some people refer to it.  That describes what it is to a certain extent.

Basically, it allows website publishers and bloggers to reach their followers quickly and easily.  You might think of it as an up-to-the-minute newsletter.

Depending on the website, the information may be updated weekly, daily or more than once a day.  In a few cases, updates are made on a monthly basis or just when something interesting happens.  Most companies would choose to use an emailed newsletter for infrequent updates like that.

Celebrity news is one of the popular uses for Really Simple Syndication.  There is always plenty to talk about in the celebrity world.

In order to read the feed, you need RSS reader software.  It can be downloaded on to your desktop or laptop.  You can use the web-based versions.  Or you can get an application for your mobile phone.

The logo used for the application is an orange square with a dot and two arcs.  It is meant to resemble radio waves.

Radio shows were the first type of broadcast syndications that did not consist of material printed on paper.  Eventually, there were syndicated television programs.  Now we have syndicated web casts.

The simplest way to share the latest info is through RSS feeds if you are a website publisher.  If you are a web-user, the best way to stay up-to-date with your favorite blogs or websites is to sign up for their feed.

The feed may be designed to provide full content or summaries.  In most cases, the information is shared in a text format.  A few websites send out videos or photos. Signing up for the webcast is usually a simple matter of clicking on the logo.

If you are a website publisher and you would like to make RSS feeds on your site, there is software available that makes it easy to do.  The rss reader software is typically used for building websites for e-commerce, blogging or affiliate marketing.

Files can be shared in this manner, too.  This is sometimes referred to as broad-catching.  Your clients sign up to receive notifications when you have new files available for download.  They are usually bit-torrent files.  Bit torrent applications are a little more difficult to implement.

What is an RSS feed?  Simply put, it is the latest news about whatever you might be interested in.

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There are thousands of WordPress themes floating around on the internet.  Some of the basic templates are free.  One of the problems that people run into with these templates has to do with compatibility.

Every time that WordPress releases a new version or makes security updates, people become concerned about whether or not their templates will be compatible.  A Thesis Theme takes the worry out of it.

Created by Chris Pearson and first released in 2008, the system has been updated regularly since that time.  Because of Chris’ plug-in-like functionality, you never have to worry about what will happen when you upgrade to the latest version of WordPress.  Thesis always works.

As of the writing of this post, 1.7 is the latest thesis theme version.  There are a number of new features.  Many users say that the new dropdown navigation menu is their favorite new feature.

One advantage of Chris’ system is the how-to videos.  Whenever he adds new features, he creates a new how-to video.  You always have access to the videos for as long as you use the program.  Other programs may come and go, but this one is here to stay.

The newest videos make it easy to learn how to create your menus and modify the standard design to suit your own preferences.  That’s another difference between Pearson’s programs and the others.

Most WordPress themes are not customizable.  To most of us, that means they are boring.  Blogging is supposed to be fun.

You might be blogging to earn some extra money or to establish yourself as a writer.  Even if that is the case, you should still be able to have fun doing it.  Thesis Theme 1.6 is so much fun.  It’s almost addictive.

You can see how often the other WordPress themes have been used.  Some have been downloaded nearly 10,000 times.  Who wants their blog to look exactly like 10,000 other ones?

If you are trying to earn money by blogging, some of the Thesis Theme tutorials were designed with you in mind.  There are tutorials about using AdSense targeting.  Others are about search engine optimization and keyword research.  Those are things that can help you get more visitors and earn more money.

Chris also offers a free newsletter and email updates even for people that are not customers.  So until you decide that this is the right program for you (which you probably will), you can find out what’s new in the world of WordPress themes for free.

AffiliateProfitResources.com runs on Thesis Theme


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