Saturday, September 8, 2007

Reusing Content from Blog RSS

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds have made copyright law a lot trickier. RSS was labelled "really simple stealing" at AOL for awhile. There is still no clear-cut legal guide to using RSS on your WordPress Theme as far as reprinting. The legal system provides some protection for search engines but could be seen as giving an okay to content aggregators with Intent to Spam.

There's a dilemma here: A content distributor sends out content through the use of an RSS feed. The feed is open to whoever wants subscription. One question here - Is there an implied consent to republishing with proper credit on a blog or Website? Plenty of blogs do it. Syndicating content could be considered implied consent.

Another question is - How are spammers set up as aggregators of content to attract keyword-driven traffic and publish only the headline and first line of text and that link to the original source and that make money from AdSense any different from Google and other search engines? Google is doing the same thing, essentially.

I like many people have used a WordPress theme and had a lot of fun blogging. If I make reference to someone else's blog or article is my WordPress Theme blog violating any laws? Personally, I don't see how. But legal minds are at work to protect copyrighting so keep your eyes open in the future.
Copyright law has not caught up with the many parts of the internet, including RSS syndication. I believe it would be better for legislators to decide this than a series of judges, but when have legislators been carefully proactive? Maybe not since the Constitutuion.

Copyright holders have taken real issue Google, whose News and Book Search offerings have gotten the company sued in several countries, including the U.S., France, and Belgium. U.S. courts so far have held up Google's right to index copyrighted content.

Google says its right to offer headlines, titles, and snippets of content is supported by a standing policy to allow content owners to opt out of indexing.

The Google Blog made a statement awhile back - "Even if use of their work would be perfectly legal, we respect the wishes of content owners. For example, if a content owner asks us to remove his or her content from our web search results, we do. If a newspaper does not want to be part of Google News, we take the paper's stories out. And if publishers would prefer not to have their books included in Google Book Search, we honor their request. It's simple: we always allow content owners to opt out - quickly and easily."

Aggregators do not offer an opt-out provision, effectively ignoring any objections from the content owner. Even this may be legal, if there is implied consent.

So it seems RSS on your WordPress Theme is okay for now, and I'm sure there will be a buzz as soon as one judge or congressman says anything.
Terrorism - Faith Based or Petroleum Based? - (upcoming article)

23 Quick Tips to Help You Use RSS for SEO

Search Engines are a key driver of targeted traffic online, but at the same time also one of the most difficult drivers to enhance in your internet marketing. RSS is a tool that will help you do just this.

Here are 23 quick tips that will help you get the most from RSS for your SEO activities.

(a) SEO TIPS FROM AMANDA WATLINGTON

WebProNews recently published [http://snipurl.com/1bj4u] a short summary from Amanda Watlington's [http://www.searchingforprofit.com/] tips for SEO optimization of your RSS feeds:

"1. Subscribe to your own feed and claim it on blog engine Technorati

2. Focus your feed with a keyword theme

3. Use keywords in the title tag; keep it under 100 characters

4. Most feed readers display feeds alphabetically, title accordingly

5. Write description tags as if for a directory; keep them under 500 characters

6. Use full paths on links and unique URLs for each item

7. Provide email updates for the non-techies

8. Offer an HTML version of your feed

9. For branding, add logo and images to your feed"

(b) RSS SEO TIPS FROM STEPHAN SPENCER

Now, let's add some tips from Stephan Spencer [http://snipurl.com/1bj55] and continue with the numbering:

"10. Full text, not summaries

11. 20 or MORE items (not just 10)

12. Multiple feeds (by category, latest comments, comments by post)

13. Keyword-rich item [title]

14. Your brand name in the item [title]

15. Your most important keyword in the site [title] container

16. Compelling site [description]

17. Don't put tracking codes into the URLs (e.g. &source=rss)

18. An RSS feed that contains enclosures (i.e. podcasts) can get into additional RSS directories & engines"

(c) RSS SEO TIPS FROM MARKETING STUDIES.NET

And to round this off, a summary of my own tips from MarketingStudies.net [http://snipurl.com/1bj5a] for using RSS to drive traffic to your site:

19. Get your RSS content (proactively) syndicated on other relevant websites [just the headlines and summaries of course]

20. Submit your RSS feeds to all the RSS search engines and directories

21. Use RSS to add relevant third-party content [again, just headlines and summaries] to your website to gain additional SE weight for your keywords

22. Use RSS to deliver all of your frequently updated content, not just for your latest blog posts

23. Whenever the content in your feed changes, ping the most important search engines and directories [yes, you don't need a blog for this]

Simple RSS Tricks

By now you've heard of the whole RSS thing and maybe you've even started using it in various ways to subscribe to blogs or offer your blog's content to others. Today I would like to take you on a little ride to show you how, without really knowing much of anything about RSS and how it works, you can do some very powerful and useful things to add, filter and republish content.

Tracking mentions of a certain product

Search technorati.com and other blog search engines for mentions

Tag each mention with del.icio.us book mark using a tag like DTMbook

Grab the feed that del.icio.us automatically produces.

Just for fun, take feed to Feedburner and burn the feed

Set-up and republish the feed using Feedburner's Buzz Boost Option

Take code to any web and display dynamic real-time update (some CSS styling can help here)

Sit back and look cool - see the feed displayed in the right sidebar here

You can also do this via email alerts by setting Google or Yahoo News alerts for specific search terms.

If you've ever wanted to easily publish a schedule of upcoming event, deadlines or even birthdays as a dynamic list rather than a calendar style page here's an RSS trick for you to use. (This can be done on a public or private page)

Create a free Google Calendar account and slug in all the dates on the calendar (Any shareable calendar will do)

Google automatically creates an RSS feed for your calendar - take this URL and create free Feedburner account

Optimize the feed using the Event Feed option from Feedburner

Publish the feed using Feedburner's BuzzBoost option - lots of options for display

Paste the code Feedburner produces for you on the page you would like your list to show

Using this formula produces a dynamically changing list of events that will run from first up to last, automatically drop events that have passed, and automatically bring in future events per your settings. Now, anyone with access to a web browser and your Google Calendar account can update and edit your events list.

I use this for my upcoming speaking events. Bonus - you can easily set this up so others can subscribe to this events list too.

Delivering Personalized Information via RSS

Just when you thought you were getting the hang of using RSS as a research tool, someone comes along and tells you that it's not enough.

Now it's become ultra easy to use RSS technology to create individual feeds of information and supply them to your best clients. You know they want to figure this RSS thing out but just can't seem to get around to it. So, do it for them.

Here's what I would suggest. Go to www.mysyndicaat.com and create personalized, search specific, RSS feeds, mash them together and deliver customized information to your clients on a daily basis. The current trendy name for this is a newsradar

Syndicaat allows you to easily mash multiple feeds together creating one very focused and personalized feed. (Yahoo Pipes does this as well, but my results with it have been spotty)

So, let's say you have a client that produces tents for active outdoor types. You can search very specific terms and phrases in Google News, Yahoo News, Bloglines, Technorati, Google Blogs, Outdoor Forums, and anything else that produces an RSS feed and mash all the content about your client, their competitors, the industry, specific keywords and phrases, you name in, into one digestible, personalized newsfeed that changes daily. (Don't tell your client how easy this is, just do it and bill them for it - they'll thank you.)

Talk about a great way to get a competitive edge. It's like creating personalized publications for each client or each marketing segment you serve. What if you did this for your prospects as a way to show them what you could do? You can make all this content public or create private password protected feeds. You can also republish the RSS feed and data on any web page on your site using simple javascript or even Feedburner's Buzz Boost and then put it in your client's private page on your website. So now they come to your website for their industry news everyday - you got to like the sound of that.

Rss – Taking It To The People

If you are business blogging (b-blogging) you are likely finding Real Simple Syndication (RSS) an informational bonus for you in developing knowledge-based content for your blog or website.

In reality you have participated in the successful marketing of someone else’s blog. Obviously this is good news for the blog you are gleaning information from, but it can also be a positive lesson for you as well.

Let’s follow this line of thinking to its logical conclusion.

1) An online business developed a blog in an effort to drive consumers to their online business.
2) You visited the blog and found the information useful.
3) You sign up for an RSS feed so you are made aware of new content when it is posted.
4) You routinely link to the blog you visit because it has great material your readers would be interested in.
5) That business receives additional visits because your blog readers trust you enough to accept your recommendation of the material.

If you are b-blogging without incorporating an RSS feed there are many potential visitors who are left in the dark about the potential of your blog. An RSS feed can act as a mini press release. The notice is sent to a group of individuals interested in any new information you may have available.

I have always spoken highly of the use of a press release, and an RSS feed is an online equivalent for a more specific and motivated group of consumers. Certainly they are interested first in the information you can provide, but there will be a certain consumer conversion rate that may be attributed to your willingness to offer an RSS feed.

You can also consider an RSS feed a means of directing potential customers to your own ‘publication’. In an interesting twist, the marketing of your online store through blogging or knowledge-based content has made it possible for you to become an actual publisher of valued content.

Publishing is no longer an elusive genre reserved for the gifted or fortunate. You can effectively use your time, talent and passion to create a blogging publication that can gain a substantial readership. While this is important in and of itself it is not simply a matter of playing into your own personal interests, it should be called what it actually is – crucial marketing. The same concept applies to new site content you make available.

This strategy is not simply for those who are more established or have a bigger name. As an online company you have the ability to take your message to the people using an RSS feed – and they might just love you for it.

RSS – Cutting Edge Content

The use of a Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feed can ultimately offer business owners the opportunity to feed self updating knowledge-based content to your website visitors.

Agreements can be worked out with applicable third-party websites that allow content to be updated on your website without your intervention.

This third party information can provide industry related news or recent applicable blog entries related to your industry for your site visitors to feast on.

It is possible for a web designer to create a page that draws relevant information from highly specific RSS feeds. This data can be updated and archived as needed.

As a business owner this is good news. It can take some time to receive the permissions needed and then some additional time to recast a website in the image of a multi-source pool of information, but it can be well worth the effort.

Believe it or not, this scenario can also provide the perfect reasoning to work at supplying original content to others through an RSS feed. Other sites may be interested in your original content.

Generally speaking, sites that use this third-party data include the first sentence or paragraph and a link to the full article. This redirects visitors to the site of origin, which if you allow the information to be used elsewhere provides a unique backlink to the originating site.

Many business websites rely on third party (self updating) RSS feeds to supply the most current information to their visitors. These visitors view this information as a comprehensive network that allows them to glean large cross section of knowledge-based content helping them gain a better understanding of the industry you are involved in.

This process allows businesses to see the value in allowing their content to be made available through RSS feed. Obviously most people look at RSS feeds as a means of simply informing subscribers, but the potential with RSS feeds reflects the real power of syndication.

In traditional publishing and broadcasting the idea of syndication has been reserved for those who had the most money and the most skilled writer staff. The Internet removes all barriers by allowing anyone with something to say to syndicate their material through RSS. That doesn’t always mean there is an audience for the material, but RSS continues to allow the material to be distributed as widely as interested subscribers make it.

Sure there are risks involved in blindly accepting third party RSS feeds for ‘publication’ on your site. You should either work with only trusted third party content providers or develop a system with your web designer that will allow you to manually approve the content that is ultimately available on your site.

The advantages of having RSS websites

RSS - or what is now known as "Really Simple Syndication" - is a file format that is incorporated by Internet users in their websites to allow for 'web syndication', making their web content available in a format that can be universally understood by other people.

In essence, RSS is a 'mini database' that contains headlines and descriptions (a summary or a line or two of the full article) of your web content, including hyperlinks that enable users to link back to the full article of their choice.

RSS websites - that is, websites that contain RSS 'feeds' (articles or postings) - typically have colorful graphics to indicate to users that the specific web content is available through RSS feeds. These graphics are usually depicted by orange rectangles that are usually marked with 'RSS' or 'XML'.

With its increased popularity, RSS is now being adopted and used by more website owners or publishers. Today, numerous resources are now available that aid Internet surfers (and even beginners as well) on how to set up and use RSS.

Setting up RSS feeds and adding them to your website can be a simple process that does not involve a lot of time or any money. Listed below are some simple and basic steps that you might want to follow:

1. Have your web content and/or news in an RSS feed format, such as XML (appropriate and 'ready-made' feeds are also available from other sources).

2. Click the orange graphic - this is the RSS feed icon. Take note of the URL of the RSS feed; this will be displayed in the address bar (for Internet Explorer).

3. Input the feed URL on your RSS feed creation program.

4. Click on the "Generate Feed" button. This will generate the RSS code for your web content.

5. Enter the RSS code in the appropriate place on your own website.

Having created an RSS feed for your website, next comes the task of publishing your web content and news and having them displayed on other sites and headline viewers. This is made possible with the use of RSS readers or aggregators.

RSS readers or news aggregators are used to view particular web contents. RSS readers contain the collection of 'feeds' or RSS files from content providers, and they are generally classified into 3 types:

· Desktop RSS readers - also known as standalone desktop application, they generally 'run' in the background and are similar to an e-mail client, collecting the feeds and refreshing items automatically as they are updated.

· Web-based aggregators - these are online services that enable users to personalize web pages, refreshing them each time the page is accessed or each time a person logs in to the service.

· Plug-in aggregators/readers - these make use of either web browsers or e-mail clients, which allow users to view RSS feeds while inside an existing program.

Having an RSS-enabled website provides Internet users (especially those who are website owners) with the following benefits:

· Allows users to generate up-to-date news and postings, as information and content in the RSS readers or aggregators are automatically updated each time the RSS feed is 'refreshed'.

· Allows users to have control over the information that they wish to view or receive, as they can remove a feed of their choosing any time they want to.

Aside from these benefits, RSS websites are also useful for people who conduct their business in the Internet, particularly in Internet or Online Marketing. RSS can be an effective marketing tool for your website, especially in the following fields:

· E-mail marketing and publishing
· Search engine marketing and optimization
· Business blogging
· Internet advertising
· Digital public relations
· Branding and e-commerce

In addition, RSS can 'power' your website, providing you with the following:

· Valuable, updated, and relevant resources for site visitors and potential clients - RSS is ideal for websites that contain (and syndicate) a lot of information that has to be changed or updated regularly.

· Search engine optimization for the website.

· Increased traffic for the website - your website can 'harvest' and display information from other sites, driving more traffic to your own website.

· A wide selection of 'channels' for content distribution, such as PDA's, cellular phones, voice mails, and email ticklers.

· A reliable way to have your web content delivered to Internet users and potential clients - RSS ensures that your site is viewed by the people who are interested in them, without having them blocked and 'cleaned' by ISPs or Spam filters.

These are just some of the advantages that RSS can give your website (and your business). The possibilities are endless, as more and more comes up almost everyday. Do not be left behind - take the advantage of the marketing and publishing power of RSS.

Site Promotion with RSS

What is marketing or in today’s day e-Marketing? Something that happened door-to-door a couple of years back has now transformed into e-Marketing, which is online. But any form of marketing is like back to basics just that today it is more polished and jazzed up. But ofcourse marketing still remains the same and one of the easiest ways to turn our casual browsers into potential readers and clients by asking them to subscribe to an RSS feed.

RSS benefits the reader definitely more than the publisher. RSS helps link back to older content and get some free publicity and links pointing back to the site which Google loves. The most popular way to promote RSS is to feed it to the directories. Fortunately there are many specialist directories that accept only RSS feeds. When you submit your feed to a directory you are benefiting in a number of ways. Firstly your feed will be visible to visitors who search such directories, your feed may even be featured if there is a section for newly submitted feeds or recently updated feeds.

We at Clearmedia.Inc will help make your site RSS aware. This will allow the browser to see that you offer an RSS feed. We will promote your site with all the e-Marketing tools, e-marketing done the right way will open innumerable avenues for your business.

For more details visit us at : http://www.clearmediaonline.com/