As an immediate follow up to the post on FireFox 3.0 and ScribeFire – Awesome! This nifty blogging tool is going to make my blogging life so much easier. And in return, I’ll be able to post more and with less effort. Imagine reading around the web and being able to create posts to your blog right there on the spot. Can’t tell you how excited I am to get to know this powerful tool.

And just so you know, there is well known web 2.0 marketer who not too long ago released “for sale” a very similar tool. Can’t beat “free” value!

Get it today!

FireFox 3.0

ScribeFire Add-On

Okay so up until today I’ve pretty much used IE as my browser. I did try FF before but my computer wasn’t able to handle having both browsers open at the same time. Not sure I needed both open at the same time, but that’s how I began using it. And you know how it is, it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks and it’s human nature stick with what you know.

Yet, since turning to online marketing, I’ve forced myself to do many of things that are a little uncomfortable for me. Like opening up to complete strangers, posting my picture, recording my voice and soon to be posting live video with myself included (up until now, I’ve only posted a PP presentation with my voice as audio).

With an upgraded computer on hand and the newly released version 3.0 of FireFox, I decided to give it another shot. And wanted to try this ScribeFire add-on I saw on the TechCrunch site. There appears to be quite an extensive amount of add-ons and plug-ins available for FF and I look forward to playing around with it.

I’m actually doing this post with the ScribeFire add-on at this very moment. ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that intergrates with your FF browser and lets you easily post to your blog. When I’m done with this post, I’ll just push a little button “publish as a page” and viola! If all works well it should show up as a new post in my blog! How easy is that?

I also believe, but haven’t gotten that far yet, that I should be able to drag and drop formatted text from pages that I’m browsing, take notes, upload images, and post to multiple blogs. Sounds pretty cool if you ask me – and I’m far from being hip and up-to-date with the latest and greatest techy computer stuff. I will keep you updated but for now lets see if this really works. Drummmm roll please . . . I’m pushing the button . . .

Part 3 will bring to a conclusion, “Learning The Basics Of RSS.”  So let’s get you started.

How do I start using RSS?

There are two things needed to get started, an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an account then you are ready to use their services. Both versions allow you to customize or choose which RSS feeds to enter. Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

 So to get you started:

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly

2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.

3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where their intention was to provide a means for users to customize their personal homepage to contain links to websites that interest them, similar to bookmarking websites.

The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are interested in particular products and services available in the internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.

Those who intend to use RSS for marketing their products and services should consider linking up with different providers from various areas such as, email account providers, social networking websites, news and television network websites, and of course, blogs.

Clearly, RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web as well as online marketing. We can expect improvements in RSS technology as its popularity increases among users and website owners alike.

What are the drawbacks of RSS?

• The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.
• Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.
• Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. For conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display the photos from the original site in announcing the update except for some web-based aggregators
• The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website, it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually reading.
• Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they would not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be important in improving their advertising.
• RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server. Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary of the entry, thus they still access the site.
• Since it is a new technology, some sites may not support RSS.

Stay Tuned For Part 3 - How To Start Using RSS

What is RSS?

You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. Syndicating means, republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.

An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website and is also usually the link to the website source. 

What are the benefits of RSS?

RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.

~It gives you the latest updates.

Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrades, local news, or a new posting from a rarely updated sites, learn about the latest happenings as soon as it comes out.

~It saves on surfing time.

Since an RSS feed provides a summary of the related article, it saves the user’s time by helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading or browsing the net.

Read the rest of this entry

In today’s online business world, you simply cannot succeed at Internet Marketing without the use of autoresponders. “Internet Marketing” and “autoresponders” essentially go hand-in-hand.

So what is an autoresponder?

Very simply, it is a piece of software that enables you to send a sequence of prewritten emails out to prospects on your list at regular intervals.

Why are Autoresponders so important to Internet Marketing?

Autoresponders are used to achieve many of the marketing tasks that are essential to a successful online business. They can deliver sales messages to your opt-in customer list, deliver email courses, send reminders, and even help you build an opt-in list if you don’t already have one. There are many creative ways you can use your autoresponder to make more sales and to build customer relations.

There isn’t a marketer online who eventually won’t be using an autoreponder. 

So why not use the best?  Read what others have to say about the best autoresponder available:

Internet marketing can be very time consuming and an autoresponder is a big part of your marketing arsenal. It is an essential tool used to keep in contact with your past customers, and to develop a relationship with potential customers. Any successful marketer will tell you that there are two tools that are vital to any type of online marketing, an opt-in list and an autoresponder.

The autoresponder that I use, and I highly recommend is Aweber