Feed Readers — Browse your favorite blogs the easy way

So, you’ve found a blog you like (maybe even this one!).  Option a: check the page every time you’re bored to see if there is new content.  Option b: get a feed reader to do that work for you.

Now, it is quite possible that those who are finding this blog already know all about feeds and feed readers, but from talking to some of my colleagues around the area, I know that this is a not a solid assumption.  There are a lot of otherwise reasonably web-savvy people (although general users, not programmers) who haven’t yet gotten up to speed on blogs.

Blogs, news sites, and all sorts of things on the internet offer RSS or Atom feeds.  (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.  If you’re thinking “Gee thanks, that really helps,” you’re okay.  What it means doesn’t matter all that much.)  Basically, web content can have a feed, that usually is published through an XML file.  Again, don’t get caught up in that.  If you’re planning to simply use a feed, what exactly constitutes an xml file doesn’t matter.  (If you’re planning to create a feed, keep reading below.)  In short, that xml file is updated whenever there is new content, and a feed reader parses that for you.

While there are a number of possibilities out there, I’m a big fan of Google’s Reader.  It works out nicely with Google’s other goodies (GMail and Calendar), and that makes my life easier, but find an option that works for you.  There are some blogs that allow you subscribe via email, but I hate cluttering up my email with stuff that I simply want to read, so my feed reader keeps it all in one place, where I can go to easily find something I might want to read.

Feeds — Distribute your content the easy way

If I have to subscribe to content via email, I’m not happy for a number of reasons.  For one, I have to give someone my email.  The other issue is that subscribing to blogs or other often-updated content via email can really clutter up your inbox.  I really don’t like having something I’m going to want to just read in my email — my email is for work that needs to be accomplished.  I’m not the only person on the planet that feels this way.

I’m not saying you should not have an email list, but there are different purposes for email lists and feeds, although they sometimes overlap.  Consider the audience you are trying to target, and how they might want to use your content.  While blogs are the most common thing to get a feed, I’ve seen press release pages with them (targeted to both media and supporters), updates on legislative issues, calendars, etc.

There are about three main ways to build a feed:

1. Build it yourself (i.e., program the xml file).  For instructions on this, see “Making an RSS Feed.“  Now, unless you have a lot of time on your hands, or content that changes very infrequently (in which case, why bother with a feed?), I don’t really recommend this approach.
2. Use a feed creation tool (some options at RSS Specifications).
3. If you are using a CMS, it is a safe bet that it can automatically create a feed for you (and submit it to search engines any time there’s something new).

And voila, you have a feed.  You can also use a service like FeedBurner to track your subscribers (not in a privacy-invading way, but you can get some basic info, like with other types of web analytics).  If you’re choosing option 1 or 2 above, you’ll also need to then host your feed (by uploading it to your website, generally at www.example.com/rss.xml or /feed.xml) (if using option 3, your CMS will do this, again, automatically).