Getting StartedThe very first step in starting to use Read Some Stuff is to signup for your free account. This is required so that as you begin setting up your Read Some Stuff outlets, they will be saved for the next time you return to the site and login. Once you have your account and have activated it through a valid email account, it is time to get started. Start off by signing into Read Some Stuff with the username and password you just created. This will then take you to your Read Some Stuff outlets page. From here you will want to begin setting up your outlets. Setting Up An Outlet To setup an outlet, simply click the "Add Outlet" button. You will see your very first outlet appear on the left side of the screen. Click edit and give the outlet a name, typically one that will remind you of what kind of content is being returned in that outlet. For example, if you want to view the San Diego weather in the first outlet, name it "San Diego Weather."
Please note that the configuration screens are designed for a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher. If you are trying to use a mobile device or monitor with a lower resolution, you may find that parts of the screen are hidden from your view. Lower screen resolutions are only good for viewing your feeds, not setting them up. Adding A RSS Feed There are three methods available for you to work with RSS feeds. Using these methods in combination will allow you to access a good percentage of the world's online information.
Method 1: Search feeds previously defined by other Read Some Stuff users. See the first red arrow above. You can import these feeds into your outlet without ever worrying about the address of the feed because others have already done the work for you. To use this, simply type a keyword and click search. A dropdown list of all matching feeds will appear below. Choose the feed you desire and click the "Add Feed" button. Method 2: Create feeds from sites based on keywords. See second red arrow above. To use this functionality, select the website from the dropdown that you wish to create your feed from, enter an appropriate keyword, and click the "Create Feed" button. Method 3: Create feeds by RSS feed URL. See the third red arrow above. The first step is identifying a RSS feed that you would like to import into your Read Some Stuff outlet. Web browsers also help you to find any existing RSS feeds that may be on a page. They have small RSS icons near the top of the page. When you click on them you are given the RSS feed for that page. Firefox
Internet Explorer
If you are unable to find a RSS feed for the page you are looking for, your last hope is to use some tools which allow for a RSS feed to still be pulled from a page even though there is not one actually defined on the page. See the Advanced Usage page for more details. The last step is to filter your results. There are three options. The first option is the total number of items to be returned in your outlet. The second option is to search the feed item and return only results containing a word or phrase that you choose (example: to return information from a sports website about the Dallas Cowboys, you would want to type Dallas Cowboys in the text box titled "Containing Word/Phrase.") The third option is to select the time range to return feed items for. Only items posted within that time frame will be displayed in your outlet. Once you have a feed defined, you can click the "Delete Feed" button to remove it from your outlet. You can also delete the entire outlet with the "Delete Outlet" button. Be aware that deletions are final, and you cannot get them back! Once you have defined your feed, click the "Save Outlet" button. Simple as that! If you forget any of this, just check out the help boxes next to each item for guidance. You can also click the "Help" button in the upper right hand corner to view this page for help. Give it a try and if you get stuck, please re-read this getting started page or check out the help tips next to each item. If your still lost, do not hesitate to use the feedback form, and we will do our best to help you out. Enjoy and have fun! |
Start by going to any website that contains the type of information you may be looking for, maybe a news site, maybe a blog, etc. Once on that page, one way to identify the RSS feed for that page is to look for the RSS icon somewhere on the page. It will generally be in orange and look something like the logo to the right. Otherwise, look for something on the page that says RSS.
