What the Heck is RSS?

And why should I care?

Good questions. First, here’s why you should care.

Unlike getting website updates or ezines by email, RSS feeds give you absolute, 100% complete control over the situation.

You don’t have to reveal your email address. If you want to stop receiving content, you don’t have to request to be “taken off the list.”

One click, and poof… the subscription is gone.

Plus, since there’s no email address involved, there’s no way a publisher can sell, rent or give away the means to contact you.

That’s right… no more spam, viruses, phishing, or identity theft. And best of all, no reason to put yourself at the mercy of the publisher’s intentions.

You won’t need to suffer through the legalese in the privacy policy (if there is one) looking for loopholes that will send you deeper into inbox hell. No more setting up dummy Hotmail accounts “just in case.”

Again, if you don’t like the content, you can make it disappear as fast as you can change a TV channel. With just one click.

Pretty cool, huh?

That is cool! Umm… What the heck is RSS?

Alright! Now we’re ready to get to that part.

RSS is a simply an Internet technology standard that allows busy people to receive updates to web-based content of interest.

You might have figured that much out by now. But basically, that’s the essence of an RSS feed – you subscribe and then receive new content automatically in your feed reader.

If you actually want to know how RSS works, click here.

What the heck is a feed reader?

You may already be using a form of feed reader, and not even realize it. If you use personalized home page services like My Yahoo or My MSN, you’ve got RSS capabilities built in. That’s how syndicated content like news, weather and stock quotes appears on your personal page. You can also add content from any blog or other site that uses RSS to provide updates.

Other web-based tools are primarily dedicated to feed reading only. One of the most popular web-based feed readers at this point is Bloglines, and it’s also free and easy to get started with.

If you use the Firefox browser, you can also receive RSS feeds from your tool bar by using the Live Bookmarks function. The next version of Internet Explorer will add this feature as well.

Finally, there are desktop-based feed readers. These function somewhat like an email program for feeds. Examples include Newsgator and Feed Demon.

If it sounds complicated, it’s really not. And things will get even easier when the next version of Outlook integrates feed-reading capabilities. So, you’ll have the same convenience that email subscriptions offered in the old days, without any of the terrible consequences of giving out your email address to potentially unscrupulous characters.

Sounds good. So how do I subscribe to a Feed?

First of all, look for the subscription or feed options (some bloggers make this difficult for some odd reason). You might see a variety of buttons (amusingly called chicklets).

If the site you want to subscribe to uses FeedBurner to aid in the subscription process (like UpstartHR and many other popular sites), you’ll likely see the standard RSS icon, which takes you to a page that will give you an array of the most popular feed readers so you can select yours, and you’ll go from there. This is the new standard RSS icon:

Sometimes there will be a chicklet for your particular reader right on the blog that will take you to the appropriate subscription page. You may see these (among others):

Finally, you may also see little orange buttons that say XML or RSS. Often these chicklets will take you to a page that looks like code gibberish. In this case, you simply cut and paste the page URL from your browser window and manually paste it into your feed reader subscription function.

Hopefully this last method will soon disappear, never to be seen again.

In summary: RSS solves BIG problems.

So there you have it… RSS is being adopted at a phenomenal rate, because it’s a good thing for everyone.

The benefit to readers is obvious. And it’s good for publishers too, because we want to make sure that people feel comfortable subscribing, and that our message is not nuked by an overzealous spam filter.

Click here to see my free Google Reader tutorial

If there’s anything here that is confusing, or you have a question about how you can use RSS, please contact me and I’ll be happy to help! I have a post on the back burner about how to use RSS in your job and your professional development. If you don’t want to miss that post, make sure you subscribe for free updates!

Thanks to Copyblogger for a helping hand with this tutorial.

Just what is RSS really? is a post from: UpstartHR

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I absolutely love blogging. It’s one of those activities that I can just lose myself in. I’ve wondered for a while now about whether I should do any blogging about, well, blogging! In that vein, I did an informal Twitter poll the other night and asked if anyone wanted to see more posts about blogging. There were quite a few responses (both public and private), and I think it’s worth a shot. While some of you aren’t bloggers, the information should be interesting and it could give you some helpful tips if your organization is attempting to make headway in the social media space. Plus, this is my house. I make the rules.

I’ll kick it off with a nostalgic post about why I started blogging.

In the beginning…

Almost a year ago exactly, I kicked off my online writing and blogging. It all started when I wrote about the HR certification exam. Just as I was finishing up with that bundle of joy, I started writing as a freelancer for the career blog at Jobacle. At that time, I was almost ready to leave my job for something more HR-centric. As much as I enjoyed working on articles for Jobacle, it was tough to keep doing career writing when I was so serious about HR.

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It was around that time that I really started to realize that I needed my own “venue.” I would have thoughts and ideas with no platform to share them on. It was crazy, because I would come up with half a dozen ideas and lose them shortly thereafter since I had no way to bring them to the masses.

To combat that feeling of not belonging, I spread into multiple freelancing venues and write as much as I could physically stand. But even then I was missing out on the HR stuff I’m so passionate about.

At one time, I was freelancing for Examiner.com, Demand Studios, Associated Content, eHow, Jobacle, and a few other smaller sites.

But it still got worse.

I started seeing things to tweet on and thinking of blog ideas even when doing ordinary daily activities. I would see a blog post and think “I could really add something to this conversation.” So I decided to make the leap.

• In April 2009, I started UpstartHR on a free wordpress.com blog.
• In June 2009, I moved to a self-hosted site and officially kicked off UpstartHR with my first video.
• Since then I’ve moved into teaching mode. I’ve built a handful of sites and now work as a consultant to help others build their own. (If you are thinking about it, I’d love to do a free 20 min chat with you to discuss options. Email me and we’ll set up a call.)

My advice for new and aspiring bloggers?

I believe everyone has something to say. Did you know that 81% of Americans say they have a book in them that they’d like to write? Yet so many never even get close to accomplishing something like that. If you feel like you want to move beyond basic social media and commenting on blogs, then just start one! If you post a few times and realize that it’s not for you, then at least you know for sure, right? Go for it. It’s going to be so much different than you expect. And let me know if I can help in any way.

Why I blog

In short, I blog for three main reasons.

1. I have something to teach others.
2. I have a unique point of view.
3. My life is better with blogging in it!

Recently I read a post by my friend Trish McFarlane called The George Bailey Effect. Her thoughts helped to prompt the post you’re reading now. It’s worth a read!

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Why I started blogging is a post from: UpstartHR

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This post was written last week, and I have since written about HRevolution (the HR unconference) and announced the new look for the blog. But you still want to see me in action, right?

Offer

Hey guys. I am still unwinding my brain from HRevolution and the frenzied carnival post I pulled together last week. Plus, I’ve been up late working on a little side project to help some beginner bloggers. If you’re a beginner blogger or want to start your own, please email me. I will personally help you get rolling in exchange for some feedback.

Silliness

I’ve heard some people say we have enough bloggers already. That’s just silly. Saying that makes you sound like the guy who told me he doesn’t read blogs because he “already knows enough.” Yeah, right. I think as the number off bloggers rises, the more valuable it will be for those looking for guidance in a specific niche.

In a weird “what if” scenario, what if someone said we had enough blogs 12 months ago? How many fantastic people would that knock out of the game?

Anyway… Hopping off the soapbox. I had some time to reflect during the 10 hour round trip last weekend, and I am thinking of some interesting new developments here at UpstartHR. Stick around and you’ll see what I mean. By the way, I have been using a new theme on the site for a few weeks. It solved some of the issues I had with the previous theme, but it comes with its own limitations. I’m testing another theme that will radically change the look of the site, but you still get the same old me! I have to go. The hourly worklife is calling. See you guys soon!

Offer for New Bloggers and a Video is a post from: UpstartHR

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