RSS Frequently Asked Questions



Questions Answers

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What is headline syndication?

Many web sites and weblogs (blogs) update often with new stories and posts. If you track news from multiple online sources or need to stay informed on specific subjects, it’s a challenge to keep up with all the latest news and most recent updates. More and more content publishers, media outlets, and bloggers are turning to "syndication" -- a way to broadly deliver their headlines and frequently updated web content to news consumers via a standard distribution format (RSS), that can also be used in My Yahoo!.

Syndication describes the process of publishing simultaneously in more than one online location. It’s usually not for distributing full-text articles (though it can be), but often includes the headline and a few lines of text or a short summary of the article. On My Yahoo!, the headline links back to the complete article or blog post on the publisher’s web site.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It’s a format that web sites and blogs can use to send updated headlines to you via services like My Yahoo!. My Yahoo! gathers the content you select from a variety of sources and displays it for you in one convenient location. Syndication means you don't have to visit each site individually to see what's new -- you simply scan headlines or brief article summaries and click to read the full text. That’s the "really simple" part. And it’s "really simple" for publishers to make their content accessible this way too.

Because RSS is a relatively new format, not all sites currently syndicate their content in this way. However, many notable sites already do offer RSS, and every day the RSS offering grows. For example, news sites such as the Christian Science Monitor, the BBC, and CNet's News.com use RSS to syndicate news headlines and summaries. Other sites use RSS to alert customers of new products or upcoming events.

What versions of RSS does My Yahoo! support?

Although RSS is relatively new syndication standard, there are several different versions in use today. My Yahoo! currently supports all of the following formats, including: RSS 0.90, 0.91, 0.92, 1.0, and 2.0, as well as Atom, an emerging alternative standard.

The bottomline: you don’t actually have to know anything about the syndication format in order to benefit from it. My Yahoo! uses RSS to pull headlines and summaries from your favorite web sites and blogs. All you have to do is specify which sites you'd like to see added to your personal My Yahoo! page -- we'll take it from there.

Is My Yahoo! becoming a Newsreader?

Yes. A newsreader (sometimes called a news aggregator) is software that periodically polls a specified set of web sites or blogs, pulls the latest headlines, and displays them on a single page. It works a lot like My Yahoo! in gathering together content from all across Yahoo!.

What are the benefits of using an RSS Newsreader?

There are many benefits to accessing headlines and information this way:

Ultimately, you save time while consuming more information. Instead of browsing multiple sites to find information of interest, syndicated headlines are delivered directly to your My Yahoo! page. And they are consolidated in a way that's easy to scan periodically throughout the day. When a headline interests you, just click and go directly to the source.

How can I use RSS?

Typically, people use RSS to:

Blogs are web pages which typically consist of timestamped, frequently updated links to news items and web sites. Blogging has developed into an online publishing tool used for many purposes: traditional journalism, personal diaries, collaborative journals, digital note-taking, topical group discussion forums, and hybrid combinations.

How do I find RSS sources for my page?

Any site that supports RSS can be added to My Yahoo!. You can start by browsing through one of the directory categories on the Add Content page. Or try typing a keyword into the “Find Content” box.

You are also welcome to start with the Yahoo! Directory or search for RSS. You'll quickly discover there are several RSS directories on the Web today that are very helpful. Here are some of the better-known resources for finding RSS feeds:

Can I manually add an RSS source to My Yahoo!?

Yes, you can quickly add any RSS source to My Yahoo! If you find what you are looking for using the Add Content tools, just click “add.” If you want to add RSS source not currently found on My Yahoo!, you can do that too. Follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to the site or do a quick web search if you don’t know it.
  2. Look for a little orange button like this: . This indicates the site syndicates its content. Usually, the button points directly to the site’s RSS file. (The page looks like raw code, but don’t let it scare you!)
  3. To find the RSS URL, right-click on the orange XML button to “Copy Shortcut.” Or click on the “XML” button and select "Copy" from the Edit menu to copy the URL found in the address bar of your browser.
  4. Return to My Yahoo!’s “Add RSS by URL” page, click within the URL entry field, select "Paste" from the Edit menu, and click the Add button.
  5. A valid RSS URL will take you to a preview page where you can see how the module will look on your page. If you like what you see, confirm by clicking “Add.”
Congratulations! You’ve just added a new RSS feed to your page.

How can I add content about a specific topic to my page?

You can easily create a feed to track anything that interests you via Yahoo! News Search. For example, pick a person (eg, “John Kerry”), a company (“Yahoo!”), or a specific topic (“Windsurfing”). Just type in your search terms, click the "Add to My Yahoo!” button on the search results page and follow the simple instructions. Your custom feed will pull the latest headlines from any sites and deliver it right to your page.

What happens if I try to add an RSS URL that is behind a firewall?

Because Yahoo! only has access to publicly available RSS files, My Yahoo! will not be able to pull syndicated feeds hosted behind firewalls. For example, if you subscribe to an internal company newsletter that is syndicated using RSS, you will not be able to read it via My Yahoo!

How do I learn more about RSS?

There's lots of information on the Web about RSS. Depending on what you're looking for, try starting here:


 
 

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