What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary depending on
who you ask. Either way, it does the same thing. Basically,
instead of having to periodically visit all of your favorite
web pages to look for recent changes, RSS allows those changes to be
automatically sent to you. Many content providers such as news
services or weblog authors provide an RSS feed, users then use an
"aggregator" to monitor their favorite RSS feeds and show any new
content. For example, the USGS offers an
earthquake RSS
feed so instead of having to repeatedly check their site you can simply add
their RSS feed to your aggregator so you can easily see a list of all the
recent shakings.
What is an RSS Aggregator?
To receive an RSS feed you will need an RSS aggregator. There are
downloadable reader applications, many of them free, with just about every
feature imaginable. Alternatively, if you have a favorite home page
service such as My Yahoo! or
Google
then you can simply add your favorite RSS feeds to your home page, you won't
need a separate aggregator.
Kona Earth RSS
Every week or so there is a new posting about recent events and adventures
here at Kona Earth. To find the latest postings you can check the
website periodically or you can add the RSS feed to your favorite aggregator
or home page.
Clicking on the 
button will show you the source code for the RSS feed. If you are
using an RSS aggregator, it will need this code. If you are using
a home page then all you need is the address of the code:
http://www.KonaEarth.com/rss.xml
Google Home Page
If you use a Google perzonalized home page you can add Kona Earth RSS feed by
simply clicking on this button:
My Yahoo! Home Page
Adding Kona Earth RSS feed to your My Yahoo! home page is easy, simply click on this button:
Once the feed is added, you will probably want to customize how it is
displayed. Find the feed on your
My Yahoo!
home page then click on the Edit button and select Edit Content. There
are three things you will want to modify:
- 1) Display articles from "any date" instead of the default
"past 3 days". Since the Kona Earth feed is only updated once a week
or so, if this is not changed then you won't see any articles.
- 2) Display the "headline and short summary" instead of the default "headline" only.
- 3) The make the third customization, click the Finished button then
find the Kona Earth section on your My Yahoo! Home Page. Now there
should be a line at the bottom that says
"View this feed as a gallery or slideshow in a narrow module."
Selecting this will allow you see the little thumbnail pictures associated
with the articles.
Now the articles should update automatically. Whenever you see a
new picture, simply click on it and you will be taken directly to the
new story.
Bookmark
RSS is completely optional. It is nothing but a shortcut directly to the
most recent stories posted on the Life page. If you
don't want to be bothered with any of this RSS nonsense then you can simply
bookmark this site
and return to it whenever you'd like.
Some applications (such as Mozilla's Firefox browser, Yahoo! Toolbar, etc.)
can automatically tell when a website contains RSS feed. If Firefox has
an orange box highlighted in the lower right corner, or the Yahoo! Toolbar has
a blue "plus" button next to the My Yahoo! button on the toolbar, then simply
click on the button and the RSS feed will be bookmarked for you.
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