Web Syndication and Podcasts

Transcript Web Syndication and Podcasts

Web Syndication
&
Podcasts
Presented by:
Jordan Adler
Andrew Schumacher
Syndication (In General)
• Television/Radio
– Right to broadcast shows to multiple stations
without going through a broadcast network
– “Local affiliates”
• Print
– News articles, columns, and comic strips
made available to newspapers and
magazines
• What’s the theme?
Web Syndication
• General Definition:
– A section of website is made for use by other
websites
• Realistic Definition:
– “web feeds” from a site to provide others with
a summary of recently added content
History of Successful Web
Syndication
• Beginning Year: 2001
• Publisher: Miniclip (online gaming website)
• Use: Syndicated browser based interactive
games
Uses of Web Syndication
• Media Outlets (Newspapers/TV websites)
– Publish “Latest News Headlines”
• Commercial Websites
– Publish “New Product Offerings”
• Bloggers
– Publish “Latest Blogs”
Benefits of Web Syndication
• Benefits to both the providing and
receiving websites
– Receiver: More information = more attractive
to users
– Provider: Exposure across many websites
• Online Marketers
– Use Personal feeds instead of email
lists/newsletters
How does Web Syndication work?
• “Web Syndication” is a news feed
– Transported through:
• HTML
• Javascript
• XML (more common)
– Formats:
• RSS (Really Simple Syndication, RDF Site Summary, Rich Site Summary)
• Atom
– Read By:
• RSS Reader
• Other webpages
• http://www.springwidgets.com/widgetize/23/?param=http://rss.cnn.com/rss/c
nn_topstories
• Web Tool that helps you import RSS feeds onto your webpage
RSS
• People keep updated with their website in an
automated way
– RSS reader/feed/aggregator
– Many available on the web
• Subscribing to a feed:
– Manually enter in feed’s link
– Clicking on this icon:
• Reader checks for updates periodically (based
on default settings or user input time)
RSS Reader
http://www.rssreader.com/
RSS Advisory Board
• Maintain/publish RSS specification and
answer questions about format
– Mozilla Firefox started using this:
– Internet Explorer/Outlook, Opera followed
– The orange RSS square can be considered
an “industry standard”
RSS/Syndication Examples
• http://www.navy.mil/podcast/podcast.asp
• http://www.cnn.com/
• http://www.forbes.com/markets/index.xml
• It’s Everywhere!!!!
Making RSS (Code)
Bare Minimums:
<rss version="2.0">
<channel>
<title>Xul</title>
<link>http://www.xul.fr/</link>
<description></description>
<item>
</item>
</channel>
</rss>
Additional Tags (optional):
•<language>, <docs>, <webMaster>, <pubDate>, <image>
•<docs> document that specifies format of the file
Making RSS (Code 2)
Item Bare Minimums:
<item>
<title>Xul news</title>
<link>http://www.xul.fr/en-xml-RSS.html</link>
<description>... some text... </description>
</item>
Item Additional Tags (optional):
•<pubDate>, <guid>, <category>
•<guid> string of characters unique to item (like an ID in JS)
RSS Example
• http://www.m080060.it452.cs.usna.edu/RSS/
• Note the RSS symbol on the top right of
Mozilla Firefox Browser
RSS Example (Code 1) - HTML

</channel>
</rss>
Podcasts
• Definition
– Digital media file distributed over the internet using
syndication feeds for playback on portable media
players or computers
– Podcasting
– Podcaster – author of podcast
• Podcasts: syndicated, subscribed to,
downloaded automatically when new content is
added (via RSS/Atom)
• iPod – 1st portable media player to accept
podcasts via podcasting scripts
How Podcasting Works
• 1. User creates a media file
• 2. User uploads file to some webserver (file can
be accessed by public)
• 3. User modifies RSS/Atom/XML document by
adding an “item” which contains the file
information
• 4. Subscriber’s feed is notified that there is an
update via a periodic check (how often is setup
by the user or default programmed value)
• 5. File can be downloaded to computer or
portable media device
Social Podcasting
• When more than one author inserts their
own content into a podcast
Civilian/Military Importance of
Podcasts/Feeds
• Why do YOU think podcasting is or isn’t
important?
Make Your Own Podcast
• See supplemental paper.
Works Cited
• Wikipedia
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS_%28file_format%29
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_syndication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Broadcast_syndication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Print_syndication
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_podcasting
• RSS Creation
– http://www.xul.fr/en-xml-rss.html
• RSS Reader
– http://www.rssreader.com

Web Syndication and Podcasts

Transcript Web Syndication and Podcasts

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