One Child Policy Homeschool

• May 2, 2008 - RSS Awareness Day

This blog entry is a techie one, not my usual fare. But I hope it's helpful to you.

What is RSS? It's a subscription function for a blog. It's sometimes also called a feed or even an RSS feed. Instead of visiting each of your favorite blogs, you can go to one site and read what's new on all of the blogs you love to read. That is, you read all their feeds or your subscriptions). It's super convenient if you like to read more than just a few blogs.

The site where you read the blog feeds is called a feed reader (or RSS reader). I use Bloglines. But other popular ones are Google Reader and Newsgator.

Sign up for a free account, add in your favorite blogs, and you'll never go back to visiting individual blogs again.

But as a blogger, you also need to know about RSS to make sure that you publish one. In your blog settings, make sure that your RSS feed is ON. That way, readers who like to use a feed reader will have access to your blog.

Many of my readers realize that a great majority of blogging platforms (Wordpress, Blogger, Typepad, etc.) are blocked in China. But the amazing thing is that I can read RSS feeds of those blogs via Bloglines -- unblocked. So for me, RSS feeds are super wonderful! I can easily access otherwise blocked material. I don't know how many of your readers may be in countries where certain sites are blocked, but it is something to be aware of.

Another issue is what kind of feed to offer. Some people publish only a partial feed. So, in the blog reader, the reader sees only a headline and the first paragraph or so. This forces the reader to visit the original site to read the rest. (For those who are trying to make money through advertising, this is an obvious choice. They want lots of hits to their blogs.) Other feeds are text only, so all your lovely pictures are invisible to those reading via a feed reader.

I publish and love to read a full feed. That way my readers get it all. If the material they see moves them, they can always visit my blog and comment. I've often subscribed to an intriguing blog later to discover that it offers only a partial feed. How disappointing. I don't think I've ever stuck long with a partial feed. I just find it very irritating that I have to click over to read the entry. Why coax me with an exerpt? Give me the whole post!

So bottom line --
sign up for a blog reader and make sure your RSS feed is on.

Along these lines, here are a few blogs about blogging. I subscribe to all of them and find them helpful or interesting.

Blogging Basics 101
This is a great site for the newbie who wants to start a blog or learn about blog functions. (Sadly, this blog offers only a partial feed --a major negative for me.)

Daily Blog Tips
This site has great writing and blogging ideas! It's geared towards those who want to earn money from blogging, but you can disregard those types of posts and just glean from the writing and techie tips. 8 Post Types to Expand and Highlight Your Blog's Content is a good example of the great ideas this blog provides.

Problogger
This is also mainly focused on blogging for profit. The author, Daren, is a Christian, by the way. I appreciate that he is kind and doesn't use profanity or suggestive talk like so many other blogs about blogging. I've learned so much about blogging and online communications from him. Take for example this post on 7 Ways to Make Your Blog Stickier. It could also be called 7 Ways to Make Your Blog BETTER. What he offers are simply great blogging tips -- ways to engage your readers, reach more people, get more comments, provide better content, make an easy to use and navigate site, etc.

Copyblogger
This blog is focused on your writing. Once again, the assumption is that you want to earn money from your writing, but I think the principles of improving your writing can be used simply for the purpose of being a better writer! This is a good example of the good ideas offered on this blog. Oh, and this one too. Just because we're homeschooling moms doesn't mean that our writing has to be a boring grocery list of "Sally did math, Josie did art, Sam lost a tooth."

You may subscribe to this blog in a reader or by email.

Comments

• May 3, 2008 - good info here

Posted by JamieLee

Thanks for the comments on my blog, and thanks for this post. I'm still a newbie blogger, so I appreciate learning about this stuff. I'll have to check out those links you mentioned.

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• May 3, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Alexandra

Thanks for the links. I'll be checking otu the copyblogger.

http://happyheartsathome.blogspot.com/index.html

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• May 3, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Keri

Great info here!
My blog is more visual than text, so I'm not sure anyone would want to RSS my blog!

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• May 3, 2008 - This is great!

Posted by chris36

Thank you so much for this post!! I'm illiterate when it comes to blogging, so this helped me a lot! It also helped me with my security issues. I didn't know how it would work for my member or friends only posts and I see that that doesn't come up. And it makes my life a lot easier to have my friends' blogs provided in a reader for me. I love it that yours comes to me in an email. That way I came keep up with all the happenings and pictures in China! I really appreciate your blog. Thanks for all you do. Your proxy and squidoo is blocked here. It's weird. I've noticed that they're blocking more and more all the time here. That's a bummer for me. But, thanks for trying! This summer, I'll check out everything I've been missing!!

Chris

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• May 4, 2008 - easy tip

Posted by SchoolinRhome

Hi Jimmie! Thanks for the post. I am definately going to check out ProBlogger- sounds good! My daughter loves to be my editor and then I go back in and fix my typing mistakes as sometimes my typing and thinking don't match up! :)
By the way- for those that use homeschoolblogger I have a great hint/tip for you. This will allow you to see that day's posts from anyone on your friends list (just those within homeschoolblogger though) At the top of the page where it has the address and reads www then homeschoolblogger . com then Jimmie just type a / followed by the word friends and hit enter. It will bring up all that day's post (up to 5 pages) in order from most recent moving later in the day. They all show up on your blog background,etc. but you can still easily leave comments right there!
Try it! I hope it helps some of you!
Off to check out ProBlogger and his tips!
Have a great weekend. How's the weather in China?
SchoolinRhome

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• May 5, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Dana @ School For Us

I'm going to have to visit some of these sites you recommend. I think just yesterday I posted about Google Reader as I finally understood how it worked and what a difference it could make! It's going to save me a bunch of time and keep me from missing great posts on the blogs I enjoy! And, thanks for the tips about RSS - I had no idea. :-)
Dana, www.alexml.blogspot.com

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• May 5, 2008 - Thank you!

Posted by Anonymous

I'm relatively a newbie to blogging and always wondered what that RSS feed stuff was all about, but haven't had the time to read up on it! Your post was very helpful. I think I'll consider the RSS feed now!
Stacy :-)
http://paintingbridges.wordpress.com

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• May 5, 2008 - it's me, your new HKG friend

Posted by Anonymous

This was great information, although I'm a bit overwhelmed. I did take the first step though and started using Google Reader. HELLO???? Where have I been????!!!!!

I love that I can "hear" your voice when I read your posts now that I've met you. It makes it even more fun to read your blog now. :)

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• May 7, 2008 - Technobabble

Posted by amtell

Hey, Jimmie! I definately think you should do more techy posts. Or maybe a Squidoo page on blogging stuff. It would keep me form having to bug you so often with all my questions. LOL!

BTW, you'll notice I actually figured out what you were saying about adding in Flickr pics. Just can't get it to show up the right size though. Your advice was very helpful, as usual. I can see I've got my work cut out for me.

I had to laugh at your email, though. I was actually worried about the content! ;O)

You do have a way of shaking up our comfortable, techno ignorant worlds. Thanks for the challenge!

Melissa

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About Me

~^~Homeschooling my only child with a somewhat Charlotte Mason approach and a healthy dose of lapbooks, crafts, and field trips. ~^~Showcasing my photography hobby by sharing images of life in China. ~^~Why "One Child Policy Homeschool"? I happen to have an only child, and I live in China. It is just my attempt at a witty name for the blog.