rss and podcasting help
What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a content format which, when used with an RSS aggregator, shares and distributes web content, such as news headlines. RSS feeds are commonly used on Blogs, news websites and other places with frequently freshened content. Using an RSS aggregator, you can view feeds from various sources, including Americans for the Arts, every time the content is updated. RSS feeds are often indicated by square orange buttons with the text RSS or XML which look like this: 
The RSS and XML buttons indicate that these technologies are avaialble on a given website.
How do I access the Americans for the Arts RSS feeds?
In order to receive our feeds, first you must sign up for or download an RSS aggregator or reader utility. These utilities can be either desktop or web-based. Some examples of popular aggregators include Bloglines, Feedreader, and Newsgator, among many others.
Once you have set-up your RSS aggregator, you are now ready to add one or more of our feeds to your list of RSS feeds. Some RSS aggregators allow you to easily subscribe by placing the URL of the feed you want to subscribe to in the feeder.
The URLs to subscribe to the different Americans for the Arts’ feeds are available on our RSS feed page and our Podcast page.
Do you Yahoo? If you have a My Yahoo! account set up already you can add Americans for the Arts’ RSS feed by clicking on the My Yahoo! button. 
If you don't have a My Yahoo! account yet, set one up. It only takes a few minutes, then add one of our feed URLs where it says Add Content and follow their simple instructions.
What is Podcasting?
Podcasting is a method of publishing audio broadcasts via the Internet. Many websites, like Americans for the Arts, provide podcast feeds that deliver the audio files to your computer. You can listen to these audio files on your computer or transfer them to your MP3 player. Listeners may subscribe to feeds using podcasting software, which periodically checks for and downloads new content automatically. Any digital audio player or computer with audio-playing software can play podcasts. Look for the 
icon on our website to find available podcasts.
You can also download the podcast file to your computer by clicking on the POD icon and play the file in any tool such as Real Player or Windows Media Player. You may find you’ll need to turn your computer's volume all the way up to hear the podcast clearly.
Here are the steps to set up your personal computer to receive podcasts via RSS and other RSS feeds.
- Download podcasting software. This software will search the web to find the latest version of the podcast you want. Some popular "podcatching" software applications:
- iTunes
With iTunes you can browse, find, sample and subscribe to thousands of free podcasts—radio shows delivered over the Internet to your computer. - Juice
Juice is a Podcasting application that allows users to capture and listen to Internet audio programs anytime, anywhere. - Doppler
Doppler is a podcast aggregator. It's a tool to subscribe to RSS feeds which supply downloadable files. Doppler will go out and fetch the files enclosed in the RSS feed and will automatically add them to your preferred media player. - More podcasting software can be found on the Podcasting News website.
- Add the address of the "feed" to your software. To "subscribe" to a podcast you copy the url of the podcast "feed" by right clicking (ctrl-click on a mac) the xml podcast feed link and add it to your podcast application.
- Download the podcast. When a new podcast for your subscriptions becomes available, your software will automatically download it. On completion you can listen to the mp3 on your pc or transfer it to your portable player to listen to later. The software will automatically download any subsequent shows as soon as they are available.
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