Hints and tips on using this site - Using our XML feeds [BT broadband office]

Hints and tips on using this site - Using our XML feeds

Posted 12 September 2006 at 11:00AM by Martin Faux in Hints and tips

Whether you've been visiting this site for some time or are new to it, there are a number of features that we've added recently.

Over the next few weeks, I will take you through both the obvious and perhaps less obvious, starting with the "XML feeds" section that appears on the right of this blog.

So what are XML feeds (also known as RSS or web feeds) and why should you use them?

Wikipedia the online encyclopaedia gives a good explanation.

But to put it simply, in the context of this site, we are a content provider and we publish a headline and summary for each post that appears on this page. By using an "aggregator" (also known as a feed reader or news reader), you will be able to view the summary of the posts.

Most blogs publish a headline and summary for each post which are picked up by the news reader. When you visit the news reader page you see a summary of new content across all the blogs that interest you and can jump to individual posts to read them fully.

Various news reader tools are available, including FeedDemon (for Windows) and NetNewsWire (for Macs), both of which are downloadable. Alternatively Bloglines provide a web-based reader.

Once you have your news reader, to use our XML feeds simply copy either the "Atom 1.0" or "RSS 2.0" link into your news reader program as directed and you will then be alerted to any new posts that we've published.

It that simple!

Tags: aggregator, bt, rss, wikipedia, xml

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Comments

1. At September 12, 2006 12:39 PM, joanna wrote:

Giving users practical tips on how to use web feeds is a very good idea, but I find 'XML feeds' to be an even less user-friendly phrase than 'RSS feeds' - both place too much emphasis on the technology behind the feed. Saying 'web feeds' or 'feeds' would present the concept in a simpler and more straightforward way, making it much more accessible to web users.

2. At September 12, 2006 2:17 PM, Michael Kenward wrote:

One problem with persuading people to use feeds, I agree that using jargon like XML is a turnoff, is that for obvious reasons many large organisations ban people from adding software to their PCs. Such is the sluggardliness of many IT operations that they will not add them.

So I have urged my clients to use feeds, only to discover that they have no way of seeing what I am talking about.

It does not help if you have to jump through hoops to get Internet Explorer to render RSS. Firefox has no problems, but that is usually banned from corporate networks.

3. At September 12, 2006 2:19 PM, Ashleigh Potter wrote:

Many blog publishers set their feed up to show the full post in their feed instead of a headline and summary. A headline and summary forces the reader to visit the blog site if they wish to read the post - something a lot of people won't do. In the end it comes down to preference, but I prefer to read the full post in my feedreader

4. At September 13, 2006 11:21 AM, Michael Kenward wrote:

Excellent point about providing summaries. Essential.

Sorry to butt in again, but I have an even worse horror story that should act as a warning to anyone creating an RSS feed.

The German chemicals company Bayer doesn't even put titles on its feeds. At least, not titles that my newsreader can catch:

http://www.press.bayer.com/baynews/baynews.nsf/news.xml

The answer is to ask people to report problems and to test the feed with a variety of RSS readers.

BT broadband office