RSS Feed Setup for Academic Website

This document explains the RSS feed implementation for your Jekyll academic website.

📡 RSS Feed Features

What’s Included in the Feed:

• Blog Posts: All posts from the _posts/ directory
• Updates: Recent updates from _data/updates.yml
• Publications: Latest publications from _data/publications.yml

Feed URL:

https://lemduc.github.io/feed.xml

🚀 How It Works

1. Feed Generation

• The RSS feed is automatically generated by Jekyll using feed.xml
• Updates every time you build/deploy the site
• Includes proper metadata and categorization

2. Data Sources

• Blog Posts: Jekyll automatically includes all posts from _posts/
• Updates: Structured data in _data/updates.yml
• Publications: Structured data in _data/publications.yml

3. Feed Metadata

• Title: “Duc Minh Le, PhD”
• Description: Your site description
• Language: en-us
• Managing Editor: Your email and name
• Last Build Date: Automatically updated

📝 Managing Updates

Adding Updates Manually

Edit _data/updates.yml:

- title: "New Publication Accepted"
  content: "Our paper has been accepted at ICSA 2024."
  date: 2024-01-15
  type: "publication"
  link: "https://example.com/paper"

Using the Python Script

Run the helper script to add updates programmatically:

python update_rss.py

Or use the functions directly:

from update_rss import add_update, add_publication

# Add an update
add_update(
    title="New Research Collaboration",
    content="Started working with USC on architectural decay research.",
    update_type="research"
)

# Add a publication
add_publication(
    title="Architectural Decay in Software Systems",
    authors="Duc Minh Le, et al.",
    venue="ICSA 2024",
    date="2024-01-01",
    pdf_link="https://example.com/paper.pdf"
)

Adding Blog Posts

Create new posts in _posts/ directory:

---
layout: post
title: "Your Post Title"
date: 2024-01-15 10:00:00 -0500
categories: [blog, research]
---

Your post content here...

🔧 Configuration

RSS Feed Settings in _config.yml:

feed:
  path: feed.xml

HTML Head Includes:

The RSS feed link is automatically included in the HTML head:

<link rel="alternate" type="application/rss+xml" 
      title="Duc Minh Le, PhD - RSS Feed" 
      href="https://lemduc.github.io/feed.xml">

Social Media Integration:

RSS feed button added to header with proper styling.

📱 RSS Readers

Popular RSS Readers:

• Feedly: https://feedly.com/
• Inoreader: https://www.inoreader.com/
• NewsBlur: https://www.newsblur.com/
• Thunderbird: Built-in RSS support
• Apple News: Can subscribe to RSS feeds

How to Subscribe:

1. Copy the RSS feed URL: https://lemduc.github.io/feed.xml
2. Open your RSS reader
3. Add/Subscribe to the feed URL
4. Get automatic updates when you publish new content

🎯 Benefits

1. Automated Updates: Followers get notified automatically
2. Professional Presence: Shows you’re active and engaged
3. Easy Sharing: RSS readers can share your updates
4. SEO Benefits: Search engines can index your feed
5. Academic Networking: Other researchers can easily follow your work

🔍 Testing the Feed

Validate RSS Feed:

• W3C Feed Validator: https://validator.w3.org/feed/
• RSS Validator: https://rssvalidator.org/

Test Subscription:

1. Subscribe to your own feed
2. Make a test update
3. Check if it appears in your RSS reader

📊 Analytics

Consider adding feed analytics to track:

• Number of subscribers
• Popular content
• Click-through rates

Popular services:

• FeedBurner (Google)
• Feedly Analytics
• Custom analytics with your RSS reader

🛠️ Troubleshooting

Common Issues:

1. Feed not updating: Check Jekyll build process
2. Invalid XML: Validate feed with W3C validator
3. Missing posts: Ensure posts have proper front matter
4. Date formatting: Use ISO date format (YYYY-MM-DD)

Debug Steps:

1. Check _site/feed.xml after building
2. Validate XML syntax
3. Test with RSS validator
4. Check Jekyll build logs

📈 Future Enhancements

Consider adding:

• Podcast feeds for audio content
• Video feeds for presentations
• Category-specific feeds (publications only, blog only)
• Atom feed format as alternative
• Feed icons and branding

Note: This RSS feed will automatically update whenever you build and deploy your Jekyll site to GitHub Pages.