by DzM Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:37 pm
You guys could, I dunno, just click on the URLs and see what happens.
But OK - Just for fun...
Site syndication is a way of taking data from a web page and exporting it in a un-formatted standardized way that can easily be consumed byt OTHER software that understands the data format (aka "shema"). Many sites now offer syndication of their content in some way, and the goal is often to drive visits back to their real page. The kind of content typically syndicated is article updates, news updates, podcast updates, etc.
An aggregator is software that understands the schema that the feed is presented in, and checks with the publisher on a regular schedule to see if there are updates. If an update is received then the aggregator notifies the user of the new content. Imagine it as though you had an assistant whose job was, once an hour, to ring all your favorite restaurants and ask for a copy of their menus. If any new dish suddenly appeared on one of the menus the assistant would then tell you "the kabob place on the corner has a new inedible pile of mush in an orange-and-coconut sauce."
There are many aggregators out there in the wild. Some of them run on your computer, some are web sites (
MSIE,
Firefox,
Safari,
Google Reader, etc). Which one you use it up to you.
RSS is an acronym that means "Really Simple Syndication." It's pretty wide used. The other popular standard is ATOM. You don't need to know this though. This is invisible behind-the-scenes trivia.
The links in my first post point you to syndication URLs for PRS forum and for Medusa. Those URLs would allow you to read (though not to post) the posts from either forum inside your favorite aggregator.
Also - Your blinker fluid is low.
You guys could, I dunno, just click on the URLs and see what happens.
But OK - Just for fun...
Site syndication is a way of taking data from a web page and exporting it in a un-formatted standardized way that can easily be consumed byt OTHER software that understands the data format (aka "shema"). Many sites now offer syndication of their content in some way, and the goal is often to drive visits back to their real page. The kind of content typically syndicated is article updates, news updates, podcast updates, etc.
An aggregator is software that understands the schema that the feed is presented in, and checks with the publisher on a regular schedule to see if there are updates. If an update is received then the aggregator notifies the user of the new content. Imagine it as though you had an assistant whose job was, once an hour, to ring all your favorite restaurants and ask for a copy of their menus. If any new dish suddenly appeared on one of the menus the assistant would then tell you "the kabob place on the corner has a new inedible pile of mush in an orange-and-coconut sauce."
There are many aggregators out there in the wild. Some of them run on your computer, some are web sites ([url=http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/Windows/en-US/help/d070afb2-09ee-4f69-93ea-afea2e7f12e51033.mspx]MSIE[/url], [url=http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/features/#productivity]Firefox[/url], [url=http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html#rss]Safari[/url], [url=http://www.apple.com/safari/features.html#rss]Google Reader[/url], etc). Which one you use it up to you.
RSS is an acronym that means "Really Simple Syndication." It's pretty wide used. The other popular standard is ATOM. You don't need to know this though. This is invisible behind-the-scenes trivia.
The links in my first post point you to syndication URLs for PRS forum and for Medusa. Those URLs would allow you to read (though not to post) the posts from either forum inside your favorite aggregator.
Also - Your blinker fluid is low.
