Techies love acronyms. So much so, in fact, that we often sound like we're speaking a foreign language to normal humans. That's too bad, because a lot of times the acronyms obscure information about really, really useful tools.

One of those tools is RSS, short for Real Simple Syndication. What is that? As the name implies, it is actually a simple concept. Users can get your headlines and article intro-text delivered to them on an automatic basis.

Simple, right? They sign up using Bloglines, or their browser like FireFox, or some other method, and every time you publish new content to your site, it is delivered to them automagically.

(As an aside, I like a free program called RSS Reader which runs on my desktop, but to each their own.)

Other than letting visitors to your site keep up with the latest news, what does RSS do for you?

A great example is on the Orthodox Christian Network (OCN) site. If you visit the Daily Bible Reading and Patristics Page , you'll see two different RSS feeds that are being actively pulled in. The first is the Orthodox Word, which includes a link back to a Podcast file as well as text. RSS can send both - text and links to media files!

This is a win-win for both the sender and the receiver. In the case of OCN, for example, the site gets fresh content at zero expense and effort. For the publishing organization, its content gets a wider audience. Everyone wins, and no one has to do any extra work.

OCN, of course, sends out RSS feeds which are updated both from frontpage content, and for the various blogs.

Other Orthodox sites like the Greek Achdiocese make great use of RSS as well. The Greek Archdiocese sends out Saints of the Day via RSS. You can see that link here: http://www.iconograms.org/rss.php

I've published that on several sites, because frankly it is just great to get updated information about the Saints. We often find their names on Orthodox sites, but getting real information on them is rare

SCORE!

RSS isn't just useful for ministries. In the business world, RSS allows the same kind of symbiosis to occur. Allied sites can display your headlines, and you can display theirs. In addition, you can get your feeds listed with the aggregation services like Technorati so that people can find them. Search engines will query feeds as well.

How difficult RSS feeds are to create depends on your Web architecture. OCN uses Joomla CMS, which comes loaded with the ability to output and receive RSS streams.

Orthodox sites like Orthodoxy Today use a competing platform called Wordpress which can do the same thing. Both frameworks automate the RSS feed process. There are a ton of other CMS frameworks which can do this for you as well, and most are free.

If you are using static HTML, then solutions are more difficult to deploy. I was researching the use of Java to generate a feed from static pages when I decided to throw-in the towel and just go with a CMS architecture several years back.Maybe some other developers could comment to help those with static architecture?

RSS feeds are another tool in your tool chest of ways to promote your ministry. They are still optional now, which is why so many Orthodox sites (even jurisdictional sites) don't have them. However, with their popularity increasing daily, you don't want to be the last one on this bandwagon!

But now, you don't have to be the last one on-board. Orthodox Biz can generate your RSS feed for you and get you up and running today.

How?

Two different ways. If you are a member and you blog on Orthodox Biz, then your blog has its own RSS feed. You can put a link to that feed on your Website, and get subscribers!

What if you don't want just blogs, but would like to generate an RSS feed for a spectrum of content? No problem. For Platinum members, Orthodox Biz will provide you the opportunity to publish custom content that will be turned into your own branded RSS feed.

Whether you are doing it through Orthodox Biz, or using some other method, the important thing is to get your news out there!

Glen Chancy is CIO for corfun.com and publisher of Orthodox Biz. You can contact him here .

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 [RSS – Just More Techno Jargon or a Really Useful Tool?]

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