Business Blog

How To Create An RSS XML Feed

What’s an RSS Feed?

An RSS feed is a computer-readable index of your website. Instead of using HTML, which is designed for formatting on the screen, you use XML, which is designed to be easy for computer programs to read. It’s a really simple way for a web site to syndicate its content, much like comic strip writers syndicate their strips so that they can be republished by lots of other publications.

Why Would You Make One?

When you create an RSS feed from your web site, an index of your latest pages will automatically be available to other computer programs and web sites. For example, UserLand’s Radio UserLand product allows people to subscribe to a bunch of different RSS feeds and see everything that has changed on a bunch of sites at once.

How Do You Create One?

Since CityDesk’s templates are so flexible, it’s easy to create an RSS feed. Instead of creating an HTML file, you have to create an XML file.

Step 1: Create a new HTML file in the main folder. Rename it rss.xml.

Step 2: Paste this code into the HTML file. Edit the name, URL, description, and email addresses to match your site.

 

You may probably want to adjust the foreach loop — the way this one is coded, it grabs the 10 latest articles and puts their teasers into the RSS feed. But you might want to select articles from a particular folder.

Step 3: That’s it! You’ve got a feed! Test it out by publishing your site and running using the RSS Validator. If all is well you can submit it to the directory at Syndic8 to be included in a global directory of sites with RSS feeds.

For more details on the RSS format, read the spec.

 

 

May 9th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments

What Is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma (cancer of the mesothelium) is a disease in which cells of the mesothelium become abnormal and divide without control or order. They can invade and damage nearby tissues and organs. Cancer cells can also metastasize (spread) from their original site to other parts of the body. Most cases of mesothelioma begin in the pleura or peritoneum.

Mesothelioma is a benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous) tumor affecting the lining of the chest or abdomen. Exposure to asbestos particles in the air increases the risk of developing malignant mesothelioma. The Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer that involves the mesothelium, or cells that line an organ, abdominal organs, usually the lungs, and heart. The most common form of mesothelioma is pleural mesothelioma, where the malignant tumors form on the pleura, the sac that lines the chest cavity and protects the lungs. Other forms of mesothelioma affect the peritoneum (abdominal cavity lining) and the pericardium (which is lining around the heart).

Mesothelioma is usually caused by asbestos exposure. Asbestos mesothelioma is a fibrous mineral known to be carcinogenic. People who are exposed to asbestos fibers for just a short period of time (few weeks) or even to a small amount may be at risk. In particular, people working with asbestos and their family members or those who live with them develop mesothelioma. There is a long latency period between initial exposure to asbestos and the development of malignant tumors. On average, 35-40 years elapse before the onset of disease.

The early symptoms of mesothelioma can resemble pneumonia, including shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, persistent cough, chest and abdominal pain. Often, there is fluid buildup between the pleura and chest cavity (called pleural effusions), which leads to dyspnea (shortness of breath) and sometimes pain. Some people may not have any symptoms.

Treatment for mesothelioma cancer can be surgery to remove the tumors, chemotherapy, radiation, or a combination of the three. Depending on the person’s health, time of diagnosis, and other factors, the survival rate is about four to 12 months from the onset of symptoms. However, occasionally people may live longer.

About The Author

Steve Austin

For more free legal information on Mesothelioma and Asbestos Lawsuits, please visit http://www.bankdynamic.com/laws/mesothelioma-asbestos-lawsuits.html.

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May 9th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | | no comments

The Big Lie…

There is a BIG lie circulating on the Internet…and I am going to expose it to you today once and for all. Today, there will be no beating around the bush.

The Truth has to be told.

This Lie is so overwhelming that probably 90% or more of Internet marketers are being taken advantage by it…and it is sapping their potential in business day after day.

I have seen many individuals who do all of the right marketing techniques…and yet it seems like they can never reach a breakthrough in their business. They are currently making money online, BUT they always seem to wonder why they just can’t reach the next level in their businesses.

They have a roadblock in their way…a ceiling you may say to the growth of their business. That roadblock is the fact that they do not own their own product or service. They are limited to just being a reseller for someone else.

Being a reseller of other people’s products and services can be a very profitable experience. Most businesses actually start out this way, but you should always be looking to create or obtain rights to your own products or services.

The most successful Internet marketers own their product or service. I could name names if I wanted to, but it won’t be necessary. STOP right now and think about it for a moment. Think about the people who you consider to be extremely successful marketers.

How many of them own their own products?

Can you name any who don’t have their own products? I am not saying that every product in their arsenal is owned by them…Most also resell other people’s products or services in their line-up, but they always have that product which is theirs.

You could be given every internet marketing secret out there, but this one factor can limit your success online. Do you have your own product or service…or are you limited to just what other people have available to you.

To simplify this principle even further to make sure you realize exactly what I am saying I am going to tell you the most powerful traffic building technique available: Being Unique!

I could talk to you about free classifieds, free postcards, message boards, chat rooms, and more…all wonderful traffic building tools. We could go into numerous cgi
programs which pull traffic to your site. We could even talk about contests, But the ONE thing that does more for your site than anything else is if it is unique or not.

If it is an exact carbon copy of another site there is NO reason for someone to visit your site over the original. They might as well just go straight to the source. The sites who draw traffic have developed their own original theme around a certain subject of interest.

Don’t come to me and say, “Terry, I make money as a reseller for so-and-so.” I know you do. This article in no way intends to say that you can’t make money as a reseller. Many people are making money as resellers. As a matter of fact, I have my own reseller program for people. What I do intend to say is:

DON’T LIMIT YOURSELF!

Time and time again, people just don’t believe that they are able to do something spectacular…They limit themselves to being just another worker for someone else (Although Now they only get paid by commission). They don’t have the freedom to be creative and do the things they like.

Chances Are…You’re one of them. Are you following your own interests in business? Are you a leader or just a follower in your field?

This article needs to inspire you to action. Do Something. Create your own product or service. Write a book. Record an audio tape. Shoot a video. Create your own newsletter. Start a web service. Do submissions for people. Learn how to write killer ads. Be a private investigator online.

What is it that interests you?

HOW TO FIND A SUCCESSFUL PRODUCT

We can’t just leave you hanging out in limbo though. I want to show you the secret “millionaires” use to create just the right product or service. Successful product producers approach product or service creation exactly OPPOSITE the way the general population approaches product creation.

The average marketer says, “I have this wonderful product…Now I need to figure out a way to market it.” Sometimes they may say, “I have a wonderful product idea…everyone will need this.”

Let me tell you a secret a direct marketing millionaire told me not too long ago which completely blew my mind…Are you ready?

“Pick Your Market First, and then let them develop your product!”

Let me explain. Most marketers approach selling like this. They spend months or years creating this wonderful product. Then, they try to find a market to sell it to. Successful marketers find a market…determine their DESIRES…and then give them exactly what they want.

Think about it from an internet perspective. This means that you find people who want to visit websites for _____________. Then, develop a product for those people. This is completely different from developing a product and website in a certain field and then trying to figure out how to get people to visit it.

With the power of the internet, we can immerse ourselves in different markets and do research for free! We can find out what they need. We can poll what they want. Then, we
can start giving people exactly what they want. Call this the “Ultimate” Traffic Building Secret.

Find the traffic…then develop the site. Currently we are looking into several different areas and building up new web domains that focus completely on those areas where people are already looking for information on. In the coming months, I will let you know what they were (I am not revealing any of them yet as many of you crafty characters would try to take my ideas).

You can find a market online. Then, develop what those people are looking for…Don’t just thank about how to make money. If you find a market, reveal their Desires, and give them what they want in good marketing fashion, the money will come.

NOTE: I said look for their desires, not their needs. The fastest way to go broke is trying to sell to people’s needs. People buy what they want, not what they actually need in most cases.

Find your market…then create your product.

May 9th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | , | no comments

I’ve Been Shot! — The Deadly Battlefield of Internet Forums

The online marketplace has become a super-charged minefield of opinionated “professionals” and heartless know-it-alls. Playing their game is deadly, and if you don’t watch yourself, you could lose a leg.

Although all of online business is suffering, from customer service to how customers treat YOU, I think the worst of it all are discussion forums. Since when is it a commonly-accepted practice to toss around insults and criticism like rice at an American wedding?

It’s agonizingly difficult to get your problems solved on discussion forums when these insult-slinging predators are poised and ready to pounce, seemingly at every turn. It amazes me. It upsets me. It down-right ticks me off.

But I’m not whining about the way people are treating me. I’m protesting against the way people are treating YOU and the rest of the public at large.

Here … let me give you a “for instance.”

On one popular discussion forum, a seemingly respectable marketer sent a polite query to the regular contributors of this board, asking what he should do about an offer to sell his current domain name. Simple enough to answer. Surely not too much to ask.

Even so, the very first response to that post was, I thought, more than a little bit unreasonable. Part of that response read:

“Your site right now is BS. A useless site redirected to another junk site.”

OUCH! If that was *your* site, you might be feeling hurt. In disbelief. Smaller than small. You’d likely be asking yourself, “Is my site really this bad? IS it truly useless?”But, beating yourself up about the poor quality of your site ISN’T helping you to IMPROVE the site. It isn’t teaching you what you SHOULD be doing to master the creation of top-notch websites. The only thing it’s doing is making you feel like a schmuck, and telling you that, despite all of your hard work and long hours, you’re just not good enough.

Now, you tell me … what good is that?

And let’s not forget what this says about the POSTERS of responses like these. What can be their main goal? To generate a silent “laugh” from onlookers? To publicly ridicule a colleague? To let people know that they know their stuff — indisputably? Maybe so.

But, I ask you … what good is THAT?

Come on, folks. THINK before you speak. Take people’s feelings into account when gracing them with your oh-so-valuable advice. Realize that they’ve probably worked hard to get where they are, no matter how unlikely that may seem to you. But if nothing else, have a bit of common sense and realize that THE MASSES ARE WATCHING. An enormous LOT of them. And, they’re watching you.

Let’s also not forget how to conduct ourselves when we’re unfortunate enough to get ensnared by these online predators — because it doesn’t take much. Request a website review, and you could be asking for public ridicule. Post a tip to the board, and you could be openly bashed. And why … for sport??

In any case, don’t let yourself get riled up. Realize that there are going to be some people lying in wait for an innocent victim like you or I, to bare our virtual throats to their sharp claws of relentless ridicule. Don’t allow yourself to get caught up. Be polite, or simply don’t respond to the verbal assault. Remember, the masses ARE watching, and they’ll be watching YOU make as big a fool of yourself as the person who initially started the mess.

Now, let me leave you with this.

What about us, the onlookers? Should we intervene when we see a fellow marketer getting slayed on a forum? Or, should we bite our tongues and lay low so as not to get sucker-punched ourselves? That’s a tough call to make. What would YOU do?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Harmony Major is the author of Yahoo! Secrets, where she reveals how YOU can drive HUNDREDS more visitors to your site each day, by getting a #1 listing on Yahoo. Don’t just settle for “getting listed.” Use her instantly-effective tactics to boost your site traffic with a TOP Yahoo listing! Visit: http://YahooSecrets.com

May 9th, 2006 Posted by Administrator | , | no comments