You may have seen the words RSS Feed many times on websites and blogs that you frequent, but exactly what is an RSS Feed?

RSS refers to Really Simple Syndication which is actually a format that allows a publisher to get updated content on their website or blog with little effort. Sometimes, RSS is also known as Rich Site Summary. Feed formats used in updating web content include news headlines, blog posts, audio clips and videos.

RSS formats have been in existence since 1999 but its popularity soared during 2005 and 2006. Currently, there are many sites that offer a feed of their content through the RSS format.

Why use RSS?

No longer do you need to search for fresh content every day to provide information on your site.  RSS is a lot more convenient because it allows you to utilise other people’s information and feed it directly onto your website or blog.  You no longer need to rush writing articles or hire article writers. Just search for relevant articles from directories on the internet and RSS allows you to feed them directly to your website.

How to use RSS

Using RSS feeds is easy. You just have to add several lines of code on your web page or blog and your content will automatically be updated.

Usually you need a feed reader or news aggregator software to gain RSS feeds from different websites and display them on your own web pages. Feed readers come in a variety of platforms but there are also the web-based feed readers such as My Yahoo, Bloglines and Google Reader.

After obtaining your feed reader, the next step is to find sites that syndicate content and add the RSS feed to the list of feeds your reader keep tracks of. This is done through subscription and usually by entering the feed’s URL into the feed reader.

Another option is to simply click an RSS icon in a browser which automatically starts the subscription process. The main function of an RSS reader is to monitor the user’s subscribed feeds for new content, downloads them and then provides a user interface to read the feeds.

Any publisher or author will greatly appreciate the benefits they can gain with using RSS feeds. By providing fresh and relevant content on a consistent basis, there’s an increased possibility of attracting more visitors to your site. Additionally, search engine spiders will be prompted to index your web pages and will do so regularly especially as your site gets updated with fresh information.

Finding time means competing with Email, Google and Amazon for your attention. What are ways you can keep your focus where you want it?

Tips to Keep You on Track and In Charge!

Internet Tip #1: Whenever possible, limit your time online to certain times of day. Schedule e-mail and Internet scans after you have accomplished items on your To-Do List.

Internet Tip #2: Close your e-mail and turn off your instant messaging and RSS feeds. Respecting this boundary you set will help keep you on track.

Internet Tip #3: Keep your goal foremost in your awareness when you conduct Internet searches. Do not give in to the temptation to read the interesting links that your search uncovers. Return to your task as soon as you have the answer you need.

Internet Tip #4: Bookmark the links that truly interest you. Promise yourself that you will set aside time to pursue some of these later. This makes it easier to let them go NOW!

Internet Tip #5: Establish a time deadline for your work, so you don’t get pulled into Outer (Cyber)Space.” It is very easy to lose time while you are on the computer. On many calendar systems, you can set an alarm. Use this to set a stop time for yourself. If you are at home and resist switching gears, set an alarm in another room to get you out of your chair and away from the temptation. If at work, try scheduling searches right before a meeting or lunch with a colleague.

Internet Tip #6: Keep an internet log for a week. How much time are you taking to check emails, news and other Internet activities? Record the time you spend and how you are spending it. Use broad categories. Make no judgments. Just record the facts. Once you have the facts, you can make informed choices.

Internet Tip #7: Remember to revisit the emails and links that genuinely interest you. Revisit them after all the items on today’s To-Do List are completed; reward yourself and enjoy! Separate work from play to enhance both.

Remember, if time on the internet is taking you away from other things you need to be doing, you will do well to develop time management techniques. You have an exciting opportunity to look at your priorities and take charge of your choices! When you take more positive control of your internet activity, you will not only be finding more focus … you will also be finding time!

What is your next step for finding time?

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Paula Eder, Ph.D., The Time Finder, has 35+ years experience guiding individuals and organizations to effectively align values with time choices. For free weekly time tips & award-winning monthly Ezines, visit
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Most people starting an online home business do so while working a full-time job and therefore being organized will help you make maximum use of the few hours a day that you have to dedicate to your work at home internet business.

Getting and keeping the contents of your computer organized will save you heaps of time and it is a great idea to set up a good filing system so that you do not waste time looking for web addresses, passwords, files, e-books, emails, images, etc.

If you are starting an online home business that involves joining a few affiliate programs you will have a lot of important information and emails coming in that you will need to refer to. There is nothing more frustrating knowing you have saved a certain file or bookmarked an important web address and not being able to find it.

Firstly, the initial information that you will receive will be in the form of emails and so it is strongly advised that you set up folders in your Outlook so that you can file the emails in the relevant folders. If you join a number of affiliate programs, open a folder for each program.

To setup a new folder in Outlook simply click on FILE in the Menu Bar (the top horizontal menu), in the drop down menu click NEW, then click on FOLDER. A little window will open entitled CREATE FOLDER and you then type in the box entitled FOLDER NAME, the name you would like to give this new folder. Then click OK.

This way you can set up sub-folders too. For example you may have a main folder called XYZ Affiliate Program and you could create subfolders under that for Admin emails and another for Sale Notifications and another for New Signups. In your Outlook main window, select XYZ Affiliate Program, right click and select New Folder and type in the title for your subfolder.

If you make an error or your subfolder appears in the wrong place, do not panic. Just right click on the folder and click delete and try again. Or if you want to rename the folder just right click and choose rename, and enter the correct name.

By setting up folders in Outlook will save you a huge amount of time when you need to locate a certain email and you will find that your Inbox is not full of emails that you have already dealt with or read. There is also the search function in Outlook, should you need it. File the emails in their respective folders as soon as you have dealt with them. Do not forget to file the emails in your Sent Box too into their respective folders. Often it is your reply to an email that you will be looking for.

Your Favorites in Internet Explorer, or whatever browser you are using, is another place that you need to keep well organized as this will save you so much time and frustration.

Again, set up folders and subfolders if necessary. Using Internet Explorer 7 in the Menu Bar, click on Favorites, then choose Organize Favorites from the drop down menu. In the small window that opens click on New Folder and a new folder will be highlighted where you type in the name. You can also move, rename and delete folders here as well. Or you can just select the Star Icon for Favorites so they open down the left hand side of your screen, right click on a folder and choose the option New Folder and type in the name.

By right clicking on a folder and selecting Sort By Name will organize the contents of that folder alphabetically.

Under My Documents be sure to start opening folders there as well to file all the information relating to your work at home internet business, for example your ebook downloads, articles and reviews you may write, Excel spreadsheets, etc.

Another idea is to open a Word document or Excel spreadsheet to keep a note of the affiliate programs you join, their web addresses, referral urls as well as your username and passwords for each program. I personally work with Notepad as I find it opens quicker and I save it to my desktop for easy reference.

A couple of computer protection and maintenance tips: Install good virus protection on your computer and keep your Firewall turned on.

To help keep your computer running well, delete your Temporary Internet Files in Internet Explorer regularly by clicking on Tools, then Internet Options from the drop down menu and under Browsing History select Delete and then under Temporary Internet Files click on Delete. You can also delete your Cookies here too.

Do not forget to use the disk defragmenter regularly (once a week), especially if you are downloading new software or have automatic software updates coming in from Microsoft. Just click your Start button, click on All Programs and select Accessories, then System Tools and Disk Defragmenter. It is advisable to shut down all programs including temporarily disengaging your Screensaver while using the disk defragmenter.

To disengage your screensaver click on Start, Control Panel, Display and in the Display Properties Box click on Screensaver and in the drop down menu under the computer icon select `none` and click Apply. Remember then to go back and reinstate your screensaver once the disk defragmenter has completed its task.

Just a word of warning here, if you do not defrag your hard drive regularly you will experience your computer slowing down and more frustrating is that the defrag process can take hours. If this happens it is advisable to leave the disk defragmenter running overnight while you catch up on some well earned sleep.

You will in time develop your own way of working, but initially when starting an online home business and everything is new and a little confusing you will find it really helpful if you get yourself organized early and get into the habit of filing items where you can find them as well as keeping your computer in peak condition thus avoiding slowdowns and downtime.

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Episode 6 – Segment 5 Get Connected host Mike Agerbo welcomes network specialist Sean Walker to talk about how to optimize your home/small business wireless network.

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Cynthia Minnaar is the owner and webmaster of www.cyns-home-biz.com, the online home business ideas site for residual online income ideas, internet home business opportunities, ways of starting an online home business, internet income training and more. Get your own Complete Home Business with free website setup and start making money online. You may publish my article if you include the bio.

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Warning: This videos info about youtube is a little dated. I made the video before YT started encoding HD and Widescreen. Watch the older video about WS and HD for more info on that. In this video we discuss the internet formats available for video and setting up your lighting and background for internet video. We also talk about the no no’s for video backgrounds using green screen and re-compression that websites put on your uploaded video Please visit the website below for more information …

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