Using RSSHow to share Web site content using RSSAbout RSSRSS (an acronym for Really Simple Syndication, or Rich Site Summary) is a file format used to share content between systems. It is a fundamental component of weblogs, podcasting, and news syndication. An RSS file is an XML text file format, with standard tags for structure (such as category, title, description, and link). Adhering to this standardized format allows Web sites to easily share content with other Web systems, or client software that can read an RSS file. How RSS is used at SCUThe SCU site publishes RSS feeds for press releases, campus events, job listings, and blogs (including the Web Publishing blog). These feeds are used to share content with external systems (primarily the eCampus portal). The SCU Athletics Web site includes an RSS feed that is distributed from the SantaClaraBroncos.com site to display headlines. And the "Current SCU Weather" element gets its content from an RSS feed published by the National Weather Service. Getting started with RSSIf your site includes content that is regularly updated, and the content would conform to the RSS structure (category, title, description, author, link, date, etc.), you may want to consider publishing it as an RSS feed. An example of this type of content would be the Human Resources Department's staff job listings. This content is regularly and continually updated, conforms to a standard structure, and has an audience that would appreciate the timely nature of updates being delivered to an RSS feed reader. Also, the ability to share (or syndicate) content with other Web systems via RSS is an advantage for this content. If you're interested in exploring the potential uses of RSS on your Web site, contact the Web Publishing team in OCM and Media Services. RSS Custom ElementsThree custom elements are available for displaying content from an RSS feed, or displaying a subscription link. There are "read" elements for RSS displayed in the content well or the right column, and a "subscribe" element that can be displayed in the content well. The content well and right column elements are configured in a similar way; the description follows (and there's an example of the right column RSS element on this page): How to display an RSS Feed Subscription linkThis custom element offers two ways to display a subscription link. If you're linking to a Commonspot RSS feed, just enter the channel ID. For an external RSS feed link, you would provide the RSS feed URL, and a title. To display a link to an SCU RSS feed, enter the channel ID as a custom parameter. example: To display a link to an external RSS feed, enter the RSS file path and a title: example: The following is an example of how the RSS Feed Subscription link will be displayed.  Subscribe to [Channel Name] |
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