The FeedFire Blog -

How bizarre... Technorati does NOT offer RSS feeds? Is that like C3P0 NOT offering Luke platitudes? Unthinkable?

admin — Fri, 12 May 2006 14:47:46 +0200

Is it a strange form of irony? Perhaps I'm trapped in the Matrix [am certainly trapped in the 1970's, dress-code wise...I am a living advert for 'Denim' aftershave].

Can someone, without a smile on their face or without a strangulated reasoning or indeed some inadequate excuse, please advise me WHY such a wonderful, savvy, cutting-edge, easy to use, diabolically GREAT service that Technorati IS...does NOT offer RSS feeds [full stop] but more importantly does NOT offer RSS feeds for their search results?

I cannot think of anyone more appropriate who MUST be, SHOULD be, COULD easily be, offering RSS feeds of their searches, can you? Please, don't say Google! We all know it's up next and besides, they are not forming their enterprise upon RSS technology [at present, it outwardly appears] as Technorati appears to be.

Can you advise me why the lovely people at Technorati haven't yet implemented it into their search results? Perhaps if I said they weren't so lovely anymore, they WOULD implement them ASAP?

It almost seems to be a case of do as I say, not as I do?

Anyways, no point wasting time...here's a RSS 1.0 feed that FeedFire made at Technorati, from the search query http://technorati.com/search/feedfire

The RSS feed that FeedFire made: http://www.feedfire.com/site/rss.cgi?ChanContentId=014805

You too can make your own search result RSS feed from Technorati! Simply hop along to FeedFire.

Warm wishes, my tech-savvy-technorati-temperate-tribe,

Mike

What makes a customer satisfied? Does it really matter if you are doing it for free, anyway?

admin — Wed, 10 May 2006 14:49:29 +0200

A post by one of my favourite bloggers, Tom Vander Well, over at QAQNA has made me yet again affirm that the most critical piece of our organisation is NOT the code, is NOT the service we provide [though they are both essential attributes] but it IS our customers.

Lower prices isn't always what customers want.

Now, herein at FeedFire we have a generous policy. I like doing many things for free on the Internet, so I like to reciprocate and hope that we, one day maybe, become a part of the fabric of the Internet, much like Hotmail or AltaVista etc have become.

We offer FREE RSS feed making facilities, and paid ones.

The paid ones are inexpensive and within reach of most people [most, being comparative; I know there are many, many people who cannot afford such a luxury, so I am not ignorant to their plight, hence the free facilities].

My moot point is thus, and Tom's posting made me think [yet again] about the following: When offering something for free...does this mean we, the service provider, place no value on the 'product' we are offering OR that we can treat our free users with a lesser regard/respect than our paying customers?

In other words, do the free users really matter to us?

Apart from asking all our free users to send me a slice of cake and a cup of tea [Worzel Gummidge style....I am often mistaken in my dress, and demeanour, for said scarecrow] I am happy to provide our facilities at their disposal....and we do have a LOT of free feeds and a LOT of users.

EACH user at FeedFire is of absolute importance.

Without the users, free or paid, FeedFire simply wouldn't exist and I am absolute in my conviction that they have to be offered premium services at all times, with the paid customers getting an even higher level of premium service for their patronage.

So my belief is that when we receive emails etc from ANY user...it doesn't take much more effort to respond than it does to completely ignore them!

An email [and yes, I write many and receive hundreds per day] is my way of discretely saying to the client that I think they are worthy of my time, and that I am glad they are using FeedFire; for them to be using our technology, is a compliment that I receive on each new feed made.

Tom's post resonates well with me, although it may actually pose the same question I began at the top of this article: Do we at FeedFire place no value on our [free] service?

Au contraire, mon frere...we place so much value on it, that we feel it is worthwhile sharing with everyone.

The value of the feeds will always remain; when an upgrade is made to a feed, all sorts of enhanced features are made available, so intrinsically every freely made feed has the potential to become a paid feed.

Therein lies the secret to our success. We trust our product so much, that we allow it to roam free, and it brings back more investment than if we operated everything behind a 'for fee' interface.

I concur wholeheartedly and would like to offer ourselves as a working example of his mantra....knowing your customers mind, providing product AND service quality is the basis upon which we can do some things for free and yet still make a decent profit.

Kudos to Tom...yet again, he made me think.

That in itself, deserves a medal as many people assumed I was devoid of such process.

Warm wishes, my customer-centric chums,

Mike

Full text RSS feeds can be used for nefarious reasons by spammers?

admin — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:52:59 +0200

Are you putting ALL of your content into the RSS feed, or just the title and description tags?

Perhaps you should think about what may happen to your content, if you decide to place everything into the feed?

A wonderful, and thought provoking, article by the Technology Evangelist makes me wonder whether enough people know about the issue of plagiarism via the delivery of RSS feeds.

Putting ALL your content into the feed, means that it can be 'parsed' readily into any other webpage and not necessarily with your approval or permissions.

Whereas just supplying the title and description means that the end user has to click through for the body of the content, supplying the full text means that you have lost control of your own [intellectual] property, to some degree.

A great article, sure to set you think more about this contentious issue. Please do read it, you'll probably re-think your strategies hereinafter.

Plagiarising your feeds?

Warm wishes, my property protecting protagonist pals,

Mike

Zookoda : RSS to email service - a case of the old meets the new, makes the newest?

admin — Tue, 09 May 2006 15:29:28 +0200

Zookoda have today released the latest version of their service, after 8 months of beta-testing it.

It's a good way to further deploy RSS feeds, and shows continuing evidence that they can be utilised in methods which combine established mechanisms, with newer technologies.

If your customers or readers etc, still do not wish to use RSS as the method of getting to your content/information, don't worry. They can STILL benefit from RSS, even though they may or may not have to know anything about it.

Zookoda

The methodology is quite simple and, for now, free.

You give Zookoda your RSS feed, and then await for customers to subscribe [or import your existing client base etc].

Then, on a schedule set by you, the contents of the feed are emailed out [when new items are added etc etc] and your customers simply receive an email.

The beauty is...all you need to do, is maintain your RSS feed and the clients who do NOT want to use feedreaders etc, can still be kept abreast of your content.

This is clever. It is no use simply demanding that your clients update their heads to cope with the many, and varied, demands that RSS feeds place upon them...they'll not thank you for that, and who wants to be friendly with an arrogant, demanding content/information/product supplier?

Best to accomodate many people, most of the time...let your email savvy clients takein your content via email, and your RSS users will readily lap up your feeds.

RSS need not be exclusively for those with a leaning towards technology, it is meant for information propogation...and I believe that this should be welcomed, in ANY guise.

Warm wishes, my many marketing muckers,

Mike

Deploying and creating RSS feeds. Non-profit organisations have a great resource to hand.

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 16:39:45 +0200

Running a non-profit organisation ["Not for profit" as we know it in the UK] is challenging on all levels. Every single one, and there's plenty.

So how can such organisations use RSS and feeds, within the context of their daily operations, for the betterment of themselves AND their users?

What a wonderful resource this is: RSS for non-profits from netsquared.org

The first with such a particular focus on this sector, and such a complete, comprehensive and well written collection.

You would be insane to not look in on this site if you're part of a non-profit organisation, on any scale. It has so much salient and sagacious advice that it's incredibly useful for ALL level of users, even the non-non-profit kind.

Warm wishes, my nonprofit nomads of normality,

Mike

Microsoft lands latest blow in the new battle for supremacy. Amazon A9 is ringside judge.

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 16:18:46 +0200

This is starting to look very interesting. The battle royale for supremacy on ALL technology fronts that these 2 monoliths are involved in, is getting hot and may end up getting dirty.

Brace yourselves and gather together a ringside seat as we prepare for the dying seconds of round 1.

Amazon have dropped Google as it's search technology provider for it's A9 search unit.

Reuters reports on Microsoft winning out on Google for the Amazon trophy.

Winning the first round of this incredible battle to see who reigns supreme in everything in the World [it would seem].

This is a hurtful body blow for Google, Microsoft have always been seen to be 3rd substitute behind Google and Yahoo. So losing such a tasty contract can perhaps be interpreted as not only a comment on the technology, but on Google, too.

Financially, I'm certain Google will learn to live without Amazon's spondoolicks....but losing too many highbrow clients like this, will all add up, one day...or is that the Microsoft plan?

On the same note, no doubt feeling worried about Microsoft getting their house in order search-wise [and IE7 wise, it would seem] Google has complained informally to competition authorities in Europe and the US.

Blimey. It's going to go on and on, and before long somebody is going to have their eye out.

The fan is about to experience noxious substances at Google and Microsoft as they prepare their leather gloves for a face slapping contest.

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 15:10:22 +0200

What is it with the last few days? Wednesday, Google bedded up with Firefox. Thursday, Microsoft announced a stiff rise in spending on IE7. Friday, FeedFire went live on new servers. Saturday and Sunday were 'quite' quiet, Monday [biggest day so far] was both Blogtipping day AND RSS appreciation day.

Whew! A tumultuous week for the superpowers of the computing world.

Get the lowdown on what's been going on 'twixt Microsoft and Google.

The fan is about to experience noxious substances at Google and Microsoft

I found the above via the lovely Tech News for the Masses.

Looks like one almighty tussle is about to break out, mark my words this is NOT going to be pretty. We should all get our raincoats on, and cover every part of our lithesome corpses, as there's bound to be some **** falling all our ways, too.

I can feel it in my waters, no less.

Warm wishes, my battle-betrothed-bretheren,

Mike

RSS appreciation day is to be 1st May, annually. EVERY day is RSS appreciation day, in my book!

admin — Tue, 02 May 2006 11:15:11 +0200

RSS appreciation day has gone by. Well, so far as the calendar is concerned.

We all know calendars are subjective things, apt to change by mighty emperors or religious figureheads, so let's not pay attention to the calendar...let's make RSS appreciation day, EVERY DAY.

The true reason for making such and such a day 'Such and such a day' celebration/rememberance/memorial day, is to bring to our hearts and minds the subject at hand, and to make us realise that a difference has occurred, a change has taken place, the old is replaced by the new. It also strives to remind us that change MUST be made and that the community is only as strong as the individuals that it consists of.

RSS day is May 1st, a great idea and a great blog.

For me, RSS appreciation day IS every day. I could not contemplate an Internet PRIOR to RSS/feeds of any nomenclature/architecture etc. 'The Internet' seemed SO cutting-edge, but what an archaic structure it now seems...and some people are still unaware of that and still living in that hierarchy. Of course, it will continue evolving, thank goodness.

I would certainly NOT want to go back to an existence wherein I had to find the news, and it did NOT come to me.

I would not want to go back to having to wade through hundreds of pages, just to find the one item I did want.

I would not want to go back to having to click through hundreds of pages to read the authors of my choice.

Of course, the list goes on and one...but you can add to it, tenfold. Can't you?

In short, I could not as much live without RSS/feeds, as I could not cope without email; to me, the 2 are utterly everyday items that life has become very dependent upon, much as the telephone or the automobile form of transport.

Do you appreciate the greatness of the tools that life has made available to our generation right now? Should RSS appreciation be a daily event?

Warm wishes, my XML excited extroverts,

Mike

Much like GroundHog day, I'm liking blogtipping so much...I'm thinking of doing it EVERY day.

admin — Mon, 01 May 2006 19:23:35 +0200

I like enjoyment, and hate misery. Enjoying misery, is not a combo I'm aware of, as a concept...though I could point you in the direction of quite a few people who do practice this with verve.

Enjoying something so much that I have to do it again and again..and again and again...is something I often find occurring in my life.

That's why I love FeedFire...I never get tired of it, ever. I just sit there looking at it sometimes, in loving affection.

Blogtipping day, is now turning into GroundHog day...I'm loving it so much, that I'm NOT stopping.

Here's my next blogtipping tip off [see my previous post of today on Blogtipping]

The site is Blog Business Summitt
.

A typical entry is thus: Blogs that don't look like blogs.

As per the Blogtipping rules, there must be 3 given reasons, all in the positive.

Thus:

1] It is incredibly informed and informative, at the same time. Focussing on communication within the blogging sphere for companies/corporate bloggers, it talks with an authority that comes with TRULY knowing all about the subject in hand.

2] The language used is familiar, understandable and easily digested. New concepts are introduced in excellent English, and superbly written...beautifully articulated posts make this a real pleasure to read.

3] They talk on subjects that are VERY much in vogue, concurrent and contemporary. Always right-up-to-the-minute stuff.

As per the Blogtipping methodology, one suggested improvement:

1] I'd like to see more! But with quality, quantity is not often present....but I like what I get, so not moaning at all about this.

You can read more about Blogtipping here.

Farewell my feed-frolicking-fancies,

Mike

Blogtipping - Much like Christmas, it should be here every day. Spread the news [and the love].

admin — Mon, 01 May 2006 17:31:45 +0200

It's easy to keep abreast of what's happening in the World today, oftentimes there's too much information and that's why I LOVE RSS and feeds of any nomenclature.

It helps, as they say, sort the chaff out from the wheat. Not that I've done any REAL wheat filtering based work lately, but I have done [and continue to do] an incredible amount of reading each day.

Without reading, of any type, I'd probably end up assaulting the neighbour's Chihuaha [Again. I'm still on probation for the last time].

So for me, the Internet has effectively been a 9 year degree course and I doubt I'll ever consider myself fit for graduation.

Continually learning and seeking out new knowledge must be the pursuit of all mankind. Without knowledge, what is life worth living?

Anyways, this rather solemn statement leads me to blogs...yes, the sublime to the oh-so-sublime, if you're choosy, as indeed I am.

Blogs have contributed, extensively, to my continuing education. Without these daily [and more] injections of other peoples wisdom, observations, advice and sometimes general tomfoolery...I'd be a very miserable Chihuaha ogler, indeed.

Blogtipping day is today, May 1st and it's an annual event. Though, much like the title of this post implies, I wish it were every single day of the year [though you can have too much of a good thing, but I wouldn't mind trying to see IF I did get bored].

Effectively, you choose [one or more of] your favourite blog[s] and then post 3 positive things you like about the blog, 1 improvement to the blog you feel could be made and then go tag it at Blogtipping at Technorati.

It's discussed very capably and with the usual panache and clarity I admire, at 'Converstations', Mike Sansone's blog which is the one I'd reccommend to any commercial entity who would like to commence a blog...go there, read what Mike has to say and put it into practice and lo, you will have a magnificent blog

Blogtipping, spread the love and learn how to do this thing properly, too

My chosen blog: Robin Good of Masternewmedia .org

See, for example Blog usage, statistics and trends.

I describe Robin's site as "Sheer necessity" and is, usually, the first blog of the day for me to take a look at when I open the feed reader.

Positives:

1] You can discover EVERY new discussion/invention/article/fashion/operation in the communications sphere from here.

2] He talks in a NO BS manner. He tells it like it is, and is easily understandable even when discussing heavily technical or complicated topics.

3] He has integrity and a zest for uncovering the flim-flam from such a BS sector.

1 Improvement: Hard to pinpoint, in honesty. Sometimes the site gets me confused, there's just so much content there. But in all, it's darned near perfection.

There, I've shared my secret blog favourite with you and I already feel better.

Until we meet again, my canine cutie canoodlers,

Mike