You can even have your own MP3 radio programmes - or Podcasts – for people to download. See http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk/audio/rss/rss.xml

Anything is possible as programmes are available to convert an RSS feed into HTML for web pages.

FAQs

What is RSS? It stands for Really Simple Syndication - a way of pushing news and other material from a website direct to your desktop. Alternatively, it is a way of sharing data with other web sites or intranets – automatically.

What is so special about it? With RSS you choose what you would like to subscribe to. Then, RSS news reader or aggregator makes sure that your news sources are updated on a regular basis.

How does it work? RSS uses a format called XML (Extensible Mark-up Language). XML is closely related to HTML and is a great format for content that is shared between different platforms such as web, print and databases.

Where do I get a news reader program from? There are lots available, but most common for Windows include NewzCrawler, FeedDemon and Awasu. For Macintosh OSX BBC recommends Newsfire and NetNewsWire.

Do I have to use a news reader? No. You can sign-up to RSS newsfeed via a web-based service like Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com/). Most of these types of service are free.

How do I sign up to a newsfeed? First you have to find a feed that interests you. There are literally thousands to choose from and there are web-based lists to help you. You can also look out for small “RSS” or “XML” image that appears on some web sites – such as Reuters.co.uk. If you see this symbol, click on it and it will display a page of what looks like gibberish. This is XML code. All you then have to do is copy URL of that page (eg http://www.microsite.reuters.com/rss/uk/topNews) into your news reader or Bloglines account and you will be able to read latest news.

Is RSS just for text-based news? Far from it. RSS can be used to deliver multimedia to your desktop. Podcasting is name given to audio feeds that are delivered to your computer for downloading to your iPod or MP3 player. You will find a feature on podcasting on cib.uk.com website.

To fully enjoy what podcasting is all about, you will need to download special software to "tune in" to these podcasts. Called an RSS newsfeed aggregator, this allows people to search for podcasts on net and automatically download them.

As I reported in my feature “Adding streaming audio to your web site or intranet” (click here to read feature), audio is fast, friendly, breaks down barriers and is very compelling - you just have to click on that button!

If you can produce audio programmes using techniques outlined in that article it is very easy to make them downloadable as MP3 files suitable for an iPod or MP3 player. To see what I mean, just right click and save this link to listen to a six-minute podcast about CiB, recorded with Ken Runicles, CiB chairman at last year’s conference and awards, (1MByte, MP3 file). If you haven’t got MP3 support in your browser you can listen to programme via net by clicking here.

For another example right click and save this audio example about MG Rover (4Mbyte, MP3).

But how could you use podcasting in your company? The only thing stopping us is our lack of ideas.

Further reading:

Find out about podcasting at: http://www.podcastingnews.com/articles/What_is_Podcasting.html

Find a podcast for you at http://www.podcast.net/

Find out more about streaming audio by reading Steve Nichols’ feature at http://www.infotechcomms.co.uk/info10.htm