The use of RSS Feed in Fine Arts and Artists web sites

I decided to use the RSS (real simple syndication) Feed to promote and divulge my Fine Arts and Antiques articles from my site: Fine Arts and Antiques San Cristobal http://www.vialin.com/ like a source medium. Anyone can read my news or plug the .xml source file into their pages, and every time that I update “the source” their pages become updated without intervention. In this guide you will find how to do it.

In the counterpart you can plug the RSS Feed from different sources to your page if you only want to “read” for yourself (usually using a reader plug in software) or to make it available to your audience (using a code generator to plug it into your page). That depends on the flavor or the way you want to kill the “fleas”.

RSS feed is a syndicated file, usually free, you can include news, articles, sports, and weather into your site, and it will update automatically. Because RSS is relatively new on the Net, not all sites syndicate their content today. However, many notable sites already do offer RSS, and every day the RSS offering grows.

Using examples will more easy to understand it, I confess that after 20 years of programming experience, I was confused about the use of RSS Feed, everybody talks about it and believe me: my grandmother’s name is very easy but if you do not know it… (Hilda by the way).

RSS Feed is still not crowded arena. Yahoo recently launched the RSS Headlines (BETA), and your published RSS Feed can be available to the Yahoo audience and the Yahoo Directory for free in term of minutes. Few weeks ago, I had a problem with my Yahoo RSS Feed (I’m not a paying customer) I posted a request for help, Yahoo solved the problem in 24 hours and they email about the quality of the service. It means how Yahoo is putting attention to the RSS technology.

I cannot estimate how my RSS had helped my site’s popularity, I’m just crossing my fingers that my feed will help my targeted traffic and spread my “knowledge”.

Do not worry; it is not rocket science, brain surgery, or even tax return level code. The technical folks already solved the problems; I took the hard way, however, for you the path is clear now.

Topic 1. Personal reading others people RSS feeds.

To read the RSS feeds from others use a “Feeds Reader Software” or “a browser Plug in” available free. I think My-Yahoo has a nice user, interface.

To add any RSS Feed to My Yahoo, under the first section of the options for "My Front Page", under "My Yahoo! Essentials", (bottom right of My Yahoo page) was "RSS Headlines”, you can do search or input the URL of the .xml page.

You can use mine J to test the feature:

Place this address on the option: Yahoo Choose your RSS sources http://www.vialin.com/rss.xml

Or just click on this link now:

http://add.my.yahoo.com/rss?url=http://www.vialin.com/rss.xml

Using third party sites. Another option is to visit specialized blogs sites and to subscribe it; they have available their indexes or you may suggest a site that is not listed: http://www.2rss.com/readers.php or http://www.bloglines.com

To test this service again use my favorite feed

http://www.2rss.com/index.php?rss=7295

Topic 2. Plug in others people RSS feeds into your own web page.

First, I have multiple feeds into one single page, to make it more attractive for visitors. To have an idea visit my Fine Arts and Society News here: http://www.vialin.com/artnews/

There is a piece of code that makes feeds available at your wish, every time that the feed updates, your page does, so you have now dynamic page. Do not worry about how google treats dynamic generated pages, google likes fresh content. I had conducted multiple tests and my front page http://www.vialin.com/ is well ranked and daily visited by the google spiders

a. To generate the piece of code to paste into your site

http://www.2rss.com/index.php?rss=7295 or select your

favorite feed.

Select option “Add to my site” to generate the piece of code.

b. This option is for technically experienced people; it comes

from the folks of

Maricopa Community Colleges, I did it with earlier version of the actual script and I spent my weekend making it works.

http://jade.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/feed/

Topic 3. Creating your own RSS feeds.

I’m not going to bore you, but after reading many tutorials, I did a copy from any .xml file, and I edit the file manually with notepad. I validate the .xml file with a tool to be sure that it does not have any errors. Remember the trick is that your own feed should be updated on a regularly basis. Nobody likes old news…

Check my feed with .xml extension page: http://www.vialin.com/rss.xml

Use this tool to validate your feed:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/

Step 1. First you must add it to your own My-Yahoo, it will be available to the Yahoo Directory (strange coming from the guys that makes your life impossible when talking about the Yahoo Directory inclusion)

Again, to add your RSS Feed to My Yahoo, under the first section of the options for "My Front Page", under "My Yahoo! Essentials", (bottom right of My Yahoo page) was "RSS Headlines”, you can do search or input the URL of the .xml page.

Step 2. Soon as you feed is validated, submit it to all directories you can.

Here are some few:

http://www.syndic8.com

http://www.2rss.com/

http://www.bloglines.com/

Finally, I had collected some very useful links around the web, to make the life easiest:

Resource about using RSS and Atom, from a non-technical standpoint:

http://www.faganfinder.com/search/rss.shtml

Good resource for your overall RSS experience

http://www.kriyayoga.com/how_to/how_to_rss.html

My final words from Bugs Bunny famous voice: Mel Blanc (He hated carrots) That's all Folks!

Author: Sergio Vargas

San Cristobal Antiques and Fine Arts

http://www.vialin.com/


"Reprinted from Zongoo.com Daily Press & Consumer Information"

Upcoming Art Exhibitions

19 to 29 December 2009 At UAE

A exhibition of paintings by Indian and Pakistani Master artists and Contemporary artists.

The exhibition is from 19 to 29 December 2009 at P-55, Emirates Hills, Dubai, U.A.E.

By Unicorn Art Gallery


8 December to 7th January at Kolkata India

Event: SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL 3 "the world of miniature artworks"

Host: INDIAN ART
Start Time: Tomorrow, December 8 at 11:15am
End Time: Wednesday, January 7 at 8:15pm
Where: Masters Collection Art Gallery,

G7 Malayalay Apts, 3 Woodburn Park Road,KOL-20, India


13th December To 17th Decemebr at Gurgoan, India

13th Dec. Saturday, at 5pm

Inauguration by Dr. Praveen Kumar, ADC, Gurgaon

BEYOND THE HORIZON

Contemporary Art Exhibition of Seven Indian Artists

Venue :

Epi Centre at Apparel House, Sector-44,

Opp & Near Gold Suek, Gurgaon (Haryana) India

Art Exhibition will continue till 17th Dec., 11am to 8 p.m.

Contact:

narendermehta At yahoo.co.in

narendermehta at hotmail.com

Per Square Foot - By Koushal Choudhari

One of the Indian artist “KOUSHAL CHOUDHARY” is putting one more step in international art fair – Bridge Art Fair at Miami.

Koushal was born in 1968 in India. He is a trained Sculptor from Indian Institute of Craft & Design, Jaipur a graduate civil engineer from Bangalore University. Koushal has exhibited his works in Moscow, Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hydrabad, Chennai & Auroville. He is a freelancing artist, currently lives and works in Mumbai.

You are cordially invited for exhibition

BRIDGE ART FAIR
Wynwood, Miami, FL

Start Time: Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 11:00am
End Time: Sunday, December 7, 2008 at 6:00pm

Venue: BRIDGE ART FAIR,
THE GALLERY BARBARA ANN LEVY,
BOOTH: 8, Miami, WYNWOOD, FL, usa
NE 1ST Avenue & NW 34th Street


Contact: BARBARAANNLEVY@att.net
http://www.balgallery.com/

THE BARBARA ANN LEVY GELLERY (formerly of Cherry Grove, NY on The Fire Island National Seashore and West 17th St in NYC.)

BRIDGE MIAMI-WYNWOOD
Building on two highly successful years in Miami Beach, Bridge is pleased to announce our inaugural Bridge Miami Wynwood, offering collectors, art professionals and visitors a boutique-style booth fair easily accessible in the heart of Midtown Miami. Taking place concurrently with Bridge Miami Beach, Bridge Miami Wynwood marks a significant expansion of Bridge's presence at the global art fair market that converges in Miami every December.

Bridge Miami Wynwood will feature the best in international emerging art, presented in a modular, museum-grade exhibition space, built on a 60,000 square foot development in Miami Midtown at NE 1st Avenue and NW 34th Street, immediately adjacent to Art Miami, Photo Miami and AIPAD, and centrally located between Scope, Pulse and Aqua. In addition to a spectacular booth fair, Bridge Miami Wynwood will also showcase an outdoor sculpture project. Located just off the Julia Tuttle Causeway, Bridge Wynwood will greet visitors crossing the bridge from South Beach at the entryway to Midtown Miami's art fair circuit and through to the Design District.