Radio UserLand, RSS, Weblog Tools and Design
Tuesday, February 24, 2004IMN Launches RSS Tracking Service
ClickZ reports: “Email firm IMN claimed dibs on being the first company to launch a syndication tracking service for publishers employing the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) standard. RSSAds made similar claims two weeks ago, although its application hasn’t yet launched.” [ Via MarketingWonk ]
By meryl@lockergnome.com (Meryl). [Lockergnome’s RSS Resource]
YAAAB: Yet Another Article About Blogging
ZDNet: What's up with blogging, and why should you care?
[Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger]
How Big Companies are Testing RSS Feeds to Circumvent Email
From MarketingSherpa.com: “Getting the wrinkles ironed out of your email program? Figured out a CAN-SPAM compliance program? Don’t rest on your laurels. You might be facing a defection of customers who want to bypass email for a spam—free format called RSS. RSS — shorthand for either Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication — isn’t new. Technogeeks have been using it to keep up with each other’s Blogs and other Web publishing efforts for years. MarketingSherpa estimates perhaps a quarter of a million users around the world have downloaded the reader software they need to get headlines and news via RSS feeds.”By meryl@lockergnome.com (Meryl). [Lockergnome’s RSS Resource]
Importing Remote RSS Files
“In this article, get an example of making a request for a remote RSS file, and then importing each individual item into a database. Running a directory like WWWCoder.com requires a way of making things manageable for one person. With RSS you can really make life simple by accepting the RSS feeds and creating an import routine for your database table that stores sites. In this article we will provide some examples of obtaining RSS files and then importing the information into a database.”By meryl@lockergnome.com (Meryl). [Lockergnome’s RSS Resource]
SmartManila Beta Available
SocialDynamX is ready to share our next product with Manila and Radio users. Code named "SmartManila", this beta1 application allows multiple Manila and Radio sites to be managed within a single interface. Once setup, you can quickly switch between different services and not lose any data retrieved or the connection established to communicate with each unique server.We need to hear from real Manila users and let you tell us what we need to do to make this tool better for your needs. Here is the ZIP file. Download it, unzip it and run SmartManila.exe.
Download it here: SmartManilaBeta1
and please provide feedback at our SmartManila Beta Test Site.
[Blogging Alone]
WARE: Expression Engine
I've seen the future and the future is full of expressions. Expression Engine, that is. Still confused? Well not for long. How many of you have a blog? How many of you have a Content Management System? How many of you have been looking for blog software and a CMS package? I've seen the future and the future is Expression Engine.
Released currently as a public beta (1.0b), Expression Engine is a killer app that is sure to change the face of blogging software to come. For those of you who remember my pMachine review awhile back you'll be familiar with the company. Expression Engine is pMachine on steroids. Expression Engine is modular, it's OOP, user friendly, easy to modify, and it's almost 100% plug-ins. What does that mean, almost 100% plug-ins? It means the system was designed from the ground up to be expanded upon, to have things plugged in and unplugged. For you developers, this means an awesome API that is sure to make problem solving a simple task.
I installed Expression Engine, also lovingly referred to as EE, or E squared, or the big double E, in 15 seconds (not including upload times, which will vary). It comes with 12 templates to choose from - or ignore them and create you own. Believe me, in 15 seconds I was running around with a blog that will put most to shame with features and expandability. What features, you ask ?
- Data Modeling
- Speed via page or paragraph caching
- 160 bit SHA1 password encryption
- Double opt-in mailing lists
- Google-friendly URLs
- Multiple categories for postings
- Member groups and associated privileges
- Workflow - Yes, Timmy, you can have the post as first draft, or pending, or in revision
- Image resizing and thumbnailing from your blog entries
- Stat tracking - logged-in members, guests, anonymous, and more
- XHTML compliant Control panel - it is fast. Really fast.
Trust me, if you are serious about your blog or about the CMS on your site, you owe it to yourself to check this product out. I could fill up pages upon pages of how customizable EE is. Imagine each and every user in your system having a different control panel with different privileges, views, powers, and more. You can't fathom the extensibility of EE and I can't wait to dive into it and push it to the edge - if the edge can ever be found!
Stop thinking! Go grab it now and you'll wonder how you ever survived with those other "content tools." It's time to stop having a weblog and move up to an Expression Engine, where your true thoughts are delivered the way you intended them to be. [Eric]
[Lockergnome Web Developers]
Coolstop Daily Pick
I've seen the site a few times before and its recently being added to linkdup was a reminder with perfect timing. Redesigned just over a week ago (clean and simple), today's pick makes a nice starting point, with links to hundreds of well-designed websites. Registered users can rate listed sites or comment on them, plus build their own favorites list. Great screenshots and sorting options too. Go explore and enjoy...[Coolstop Daily Pick]This coolstop site review is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Multiple Users of RU
This can easily be done with the Multi-Author Weblog Tool. The individual writers maintain blogs and publish in RSS or other formats that Radio understands. Your copy of Radio uses the multiAuthorWeblogTool to pull the RSS, parse it, then post it via upstreaming to your Radio-managed weblog.
This will work for categories of a weblog, too. Create a category, use the mulitAuthorWeblogTool for it's content, and add a #upstream.xml file and your Radio software will create an *entirely separate* website using the RSS-published content from others.
Here's what I did for a short time:
http://houseofwarwick.com/categories/userland/
It's the aggregated posting from Userland's management team.
Good Luck,
Steve Kirks http://houseofwarwick.com/ [Radio UserLand Messages]
It was an RSS Demo
InternetWeek: All about RSS at Demo.
A more in-depth report on the weblogger panel is in the new Red Herring blog kept by Mitch Ratcliffe where I told the audience how RSS lets me keep in touch with what 1300 people are saying on blogs. Mitch was showing off his new Canon Rebel Digital SLR. He said the picture of me was cut out of a small part of an overall picture he took of the panel.
[The Scobleizer -- Celebrating the Geek lifestyle]