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| How to make your own custom version
of AWR |
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| Relevance, personalization
and customization are buzzwords that aptly
describe the way a web site should interact
with its customers. Whether it’s information
distribution, content delivery or promotion,
web sites can no longer afford to rely on
traditional on-line marketing methods like
mass e-mail and expensive campaigns. This
shift has largely been due to the increasing
public outcry over the aggressive use of intrusive
tools like spam, pop-ups and telemarketing.
Today, customers and viewers want information
that is relevant to their needs, and they
want it under their control. |
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| This is where RSS or ‘Really
Simple Syndication’ comes in. It is
simple, inexpensive, non-intrusive, and most
importantly, a technology that gives the end
user the power of choice. These advantages
have largely been responsible for the phenomenal
growth of RSS, evident by the fact that major
media companies, web sites, and news corporations
now provide RSS feeds for distributing content. |
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| The practice followed by
most web sites is to create a separate web
page for listing the RSS feeds. These feeds
include content like links, headlines and
summaries. Usually a link to download an RSS
Reader, like the FREE and popular Active
Web Reader, is also provided on the same
web page. Simply providing feeds cannot ensure
successful and periodic delivery of content. |
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| You can overcome this challenge
by using the FREE Active
Web Reader Customizer to prepare a custom
version of Active Web Reader containing your
feeds pre-loaded. You can then provide a link
for viewers to download this custom version.
When a viewer clicks on this link to install
the custom Active Web Reader, he will have
instant access to content from the feeds you’ve
pre-loaded. Additionally, he will also be
able to add other RSS feeds and enjoy the
complete feature set of Active Web Reader,
including an integrated web browser, pop-up
blocker and Auto Discovery tools. This will
help you develop the good will of potential
and existing customers. |
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| RSS feeds constitute a win-win
situation for you and your customers, because
you get a platform to display your feeds while
they enjoy the feature-packed Active Web Reader
and the choice of which content to see and
which to ignore. |
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| Most importantly, you can
periodically send updated information to your
customers via the feeds to further enhance
your relationship with them. |
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| Preparing a Custom
RSS Reader: |
| To prepare a custom version
of Active Web Reader |
| 1. |
Download
and Install the Active Web Reader Customizer. |
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| 2. |
Start Active Web Reader
Customizer. |
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| 3. |
Click on Next
on the Welcome Screen. |
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| 4. |
Click on Add
RSS, and specify the URL of the
feed you want to add to the list. The
feeds you add will be available in the
Active Web Reader when it’s installed. |
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| 5. |
Alternatively, if
you have a long list of RSS feeds stored
in an OPML
(Outline Processor Markup Language)
file, you can import the list directly
by clicking on the Import
OPML button. |
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| 6. |
Click on Next. |
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| 7. |
If you want to preload
your website’s Web Pages into
the custom version of Active Web Reader
along with your feeds, click on Add
in the Add
Web Pages window. Specify the
URL and title to be displayed.
Click on Next. |
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The setup of Active
Web Reader will be automatically downloaded
from DeskShare’s website. The
feeds and web pages, which you have
added while designing the custom version,
are then incorporated into the downloaded
setup. |
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NOTE:
Any personal feeds that you had in your
previous version of Active Web Reader
will be replaced by the feeds in the
custom version. |
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| 8. |
Specify a name and
destination path for the setup you have
created. It is a good idea to keep this
file in a location which can be easily
linked to your web site. |
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You are free to distribute
this custom setup to your customers. |
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| A final word |
| The opportunities presented
by RSS are too many to ignore. Adding RSS
feeds helps you keep your audience informed
about new developments and helps in attracting
traffic to your web site. With the Active
Web Reader Customizer, you can not only jump
onto the RSS bandwagon, you can actually drive
it! |
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