RSS is a great way to link to blog content with a feed reader such as Microsoft Outlook, Google Reader, MyYahoo, NetNewsWire, SharpReader, or even the customizable feed panels on the MyBasicISP portal home page. 

Definition: RSS means “Really Simple Syndication”

Setting up Microsoft Outlook to receive RSS feeds:

1) Select menu item Tools > Account Options…

2) Select the RSS Feeds tab. Click New…

3) Enter the URL for the blog feed you want to receive. Click the Add button.

4) In the RSS Feed Options screen, the Feed Name should auto-populate with information Outlook receives when it connects to the feed. You can change the Feed Name if you desire. This will be the name of the feed folder under the Outlook directory: Mail Folders > RSS Feeds.

Click the OK button.

Setting up Google Reader to receive feeds:

1) Log in to Google Reader  with your Google account or select Create an Account. You can log in using your Gmail account if you have one.

2) Click Add a Subscription and enter the RSS feed URL in the textbox and click Add.

Note: Further help can be found at http://www.google.com/support/reader/?hl=en.

See BasicBlog article “Customizing your MyBasicISP Feed Panel”

Note: When adding the URL for an RSS feed, be sure you are viewing the XML document. Your browser will recognize this as a feed and display a yellow feed panel at the top of the page. MyBasicISP blog feeds will end with “?feed=rss2” example:http://www.myBasicISP.net/blogs/BasicBlog/?feed=rss2.

1) While logged-in, select Profile next to your login status display.

Note: If you are not a logged-in portal user, you will not be able to customize the Feed Panels on the home page.

2) Select the Feed Panel Settings tab.

3) Enter a new Panel Title and click the Add Button.

4) Make sure the newly added panel is selected. The selected panel will be highlighted.

5) Under the RSS Feeds section, enter the URL for the RSS Feed you want to add.

Click “add” next to the URL line to make it stick and to open a new line.

Note: Adding more than one feed will add Tab Controls to the feed panel with each feed under a separate tab. In this case, you will want to have a Name for the feed. “Name” is what will show in the tab.

When finished adding feeds, click the Save Panel button in the footer of the Edit Panel.

Warning: If you forget to Save the Panel, your newly added feeds and setting changes will be lost.

When you Save your Panel, you will see a Panel Preview towards the bottom of the page. This is how it will appear on the Portal Home Page. Adjust the panel settings as needed and Save Panel to view your changes.

6) Reposition your feed panels by dragging and dropping the panel icon.  This determines the order the panels appear on the Portal Home page.

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