This is not necessarily bad news!



For many Internet users are enjoying the benefits of RSSwhile remaining totally clueless as to its function orhow it works. Programs like 'MyYahoo' and the RSS empoweredFirefox Browser are letting surfers access RSS and enjoyits major benefits without having any or no knowledge of it.

In the very near future when Microsoft introduces its new RSS powered Longhorn Browser and operating system - this situationwill hopefully continue. Internet users should be able to enjoy all the benefits of RSS without having to know what it is!

Users don't have to know 'DOS' or even 'HTML' to enjoy the fullbenefits of the Internet and their computers. RSS should fallinto this same category. It would quickly bring RSS into the mainstream without having to overcome a long learning curve.

However, until RSS is blended seamlessly into web sites andbrowsers, there remains one major problem with RSS. Most browsers can't access the RSS feed directly. When many surfers click that little orange button on your site, they get a jumbled code or worst, their browser freezes. Many will depart your site scratching their heads or saying a few choice words in the direction of your site. Not a pleasant situation for anyone.

At the heart of the problem, an RSS Feed must be accessed by aggregators or an RSS feed (news) reader like Newsgator or an RSS empowered browser like Firefox which has a 'Live Bookmark' feature that basically updates your bookmarks or feeds with RSS. A direct link to an RSS feed just won't work with most browsers.

Webmasters must fix this problem. You must fix this problem. You must make your site RSS User-Friendly. You should realize by now,every web site visitor counts. Besides, its just good net etiquette.

Here are some simple solutions to help alleviate this problemand make your site more RSS-Friendly:

1. Don't just place the orange RSS button on your site. Alwaysinclude a link 'What is This?' beside it. Have this link leadingto a page explaining what RSS is and how your visitors canaccess and use it. This has a two-fold benefit visitors who are familiar with RSS will know how to use the button, visitors who are in the dark can get a quick education in RSS 101! Here's anexample I have on my site.'What Is RSS?'.

You are welcome to use this page on your site if you're pressed for time. Just copy it and upload it to your site or link directly to it.It will do in a pinch!

2. As mentioned before some browsers can Automatically discoveror Access your RSS feed. The Firefox Browser is a prime example.To facilitate or aid in this AutoDiscovery process place a simple code in the HEAD section of your webpage's HTML code:

(link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml"title="RSS"href="http://www.bizwaremagic.com/blog/atom.xml" /)

Just don't forget to replace the ( and ) characters with RSS Report and Guide.

Copyright ? 2005 Titus Hoskins of http://www.bizwaremagic.com.

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