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FeedBurner API

101 Flares for a Better Tomorrow

To help kick-start development with the FeedFlare API, the good citizens of FeedBurner got together and used their special powers to craft a list of one hundred and one FeedFlare ideas.

Coming soon: easy ways to discover other FeedFlares, and promote your own. This list is just the beginning!

  1. Attribution
    Shows link text like "This item is from Burning Questions" (since it can access the feed's title) and the link points to the blog URL. This allows the item to be taken out of the context of the feed, but allows it to be tracked back to the feed wherever it may be repurposed.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 08 Feb 06 by FeedBurner.)
  2. Charity Link
    Links to a donation page for a charity like the American Red Cross. You could easily change this flare based on the cause you wish to serve!
  3. More Like This
    Link text always reads "More Like This" and links to a Google or MS Live search results for "Similar Pages" given the item URL.
  4. More Like This (limited to site)
    Link text always reads "More Like This" and links to a Google or MS Live search results for "Similar Pages" given the item URL just for one specific site, such as a news portal or blog.
  5. Powered By FeedBurner
    Displays "Powered By FeedBurner" and links to FeedBurner home page.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 10 Mar 06 by Quick Online Tips.)
  6. Skype Me
    Link text always reads "Skype Me" (or possibly "Skype Eric Now") that links to a callto: URL that features the publisher's Skype ID.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 23 Jul 06 by Matt Sidesinger.)
  7. Blog This
    Link to some configurable blogging platform to start a new post with the current item's link provided.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 09 Mar 06 by Quick Online Tips.)
  8. Subscribe to comments
    Link to a microfeed for the comments on an item. Would work today with WordPress-powered blogs.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 11 Feb 06 by Mariano Di Biase.)
  9. News Alert
    Dynamic Flare that is included in every item and usually returns a blank unit, except when some kind of alert exists that the publisher wants to have appear on every item. It then gets replaced with the alert text that the publisher provides.
  10. Item Age
    Dynastrongmic Flare that just display how old the item is in minutes, then hours, then days, then weeks, then months, then years. Time marches on.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 23 Feb 06 by Oliver Brown.)
  11. Hot off the Press
    This dynamic text-based Flare would show if the item is less than an hour old.
  12. Translate This
    Links to some tranlsation service with the item URL. Variations of the same flare unit can be provided to allow for multiple language choices.
    Flared! "English-to-Russian Translation" — Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 11 Feb 06 by Anton Antich.)
  13. Play Now
    Links to any podcast media provided in an <enclosure> element found within a feed item.
  14. Self Promotion
    Link or plain text that promotes your new book, site or other personal project.
  15. Homeland Security Alert
    Green, Blue, Bert, Ernie, Elmo.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 23 Jan 07 by FreeStyle Reference.)
  16. Rate This Post
    Links to a third party rating system to allow a specific post to be rated on some scale.
    Flared! Customize it now (Flared 06 Dec 06 by Authorati.com.)
  17. Syndicate This
    Links to a form that would allow anyone to include BuzzBoost code for the current feed on their web page. (Probably a developed-by-FeedBurner-only Flare.)
  18. Quote of the Day
    Displays a random quote, optionally linking to the source.
  19. Digg It
    Allows posting of the item link to Digg.com.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Originally Flared 09 Feb 06 by Ross Belmont; now a built-in member of the Official Catalog)
  20. Map It
    Link to a web mapping service display for feed items that have location context assoicated with them. Flare could be static, or more dynamic, possibly based on the keywords in the item. It could even use the Google Base location attribute.
  21. Advertise on this Site
    Link to publisher's address for ads within site-based advertising networks.
  22. Events in my Area
    Link to Upcoming.org, using any location-based data in the feed to target event listings.
  23. Donations Welcome
    Collect donations for your content using your favorite micropayments service.
  24. Author Bio
    Link to a simple profile page.
  25. Categories/Tags
    Displays the list of categories or tags that the publisher has assigned to the item using a publishing platform that supports them.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Originally Flared 27 Jan 07 by Prokrams.com; works with links containing rel="tag" attributes within a post.)
  26. Show Google Base Attribute
    There are all kinds of Google Base attributes that can be attached to an item. Simply display the current value with a label in a FeedFlare unit.
  27. Google Base "Author"
    Use Google Base information to display books by that author at Amazon.
  28. Convert Price
    Using Google Base "price" and "currency" values, offer to convert to a different currency.
  29. Buy Book at Amazon
    Using the Google Base ISBN attribute, offer a link to the book at Amazon (including your Associates ID!).
  30. Rating
    Uses the Google Base rating attribute. When FeedFlare supports custom image display, this Flare unit could reference a small image like a star or a thumb, and display the image once for each rating point.
  31. UPC
    Uses the Google Base UPC attribute. Hours of consumer fun possibilities!
  32. Tags in Furl
    Dynamic flare that displays the top tags for this post at Furl. If there no tags yet, then display a "Tag with Furl" link.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 27 Mar 07 by Orchestr8.)
  33. Tags in Spurl
    Lather, rinse, repeat for the above. There are some neat extra credit things that could be done across tagging sites, but those are left as an exercise to the reader/developer.
  34. Survey
    Links to a web-based survey that lets publishers collect opt-in demographics on RSS subscribers.
    Flared! Customize it now (Flared 28 Jul 06 by Mark Woodman.)
  35. Previous/Next Entry
    Displays the title of the previous or next entry in this feed, linking to it.
  36. FeedAdvisor: View Related Content
    Use FeedAdvisor service to show related feeds.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 09 Feb 06 by Phil Hollows.)
  37. Suggest this to...
    For feeds that review sites or products, this Flare links to a "Suggestion" page to help those services find new stuff.
  38. What's this?
    Links to the FeedFlare Overview and FAQ.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 10 Mar 06 by Quick Online Tips.)
  39. Last.fm
    Link to last song listened to, or a link to the feed publisher's last.fm profile.
    Flared! Customize it now (Flared 27 Mar 07 by Orchestr8.)
  40. Add This Picture to Flickr
    For posts that have pictures, it permits posting the photo to my Flickr account.
  41. Add to Ta-Da List
    Post this item to a Ta-Da list.
  42. Current Location/Mood
    Displays a simple phrase, such as "I'm feeling: grippy", or could also use geotagging info from the feed level to render a mapping service pushpinned link in a popup window.
  43. Incorporate Amazon ECS
    Link to related books/items/products using Amazon ECS.
  44. "Enhanced" Author
    Display avatar, picture or something else that provides insight into the item's author.
  45. Edumacate Me
    Look for biggish words in the item and provide links to dictionary sites (or just the definition, in the case of a really smart dynamic FeedFlare unit). Alternatively, provide a relevant link or search query to Wikipedia.
  46. Sentimeter
    An Opinmind.com-powered Flare displaying their sentimeter™, either for the publisher's blog or for an entered keyword.
  47. Feed2Podcast
    Links to any Feed2Podcast-powered audio with text like "Listen to this Post".
  48. Download from CoralCDN
    If the feed item features a media enclosure, construct a link using Coral to help preserve bandwidth.
  49. Show Media RSS Rating
    Display a content rating if the feed item features a <media:rating> element from Media RSS
  50. Display Copyright
    Displays explicit copyright message associated with an item.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 10 Mar 06 by Quick Online Tips.)
  1. Display Duration
    If a feed item contains an iTunes duration element, display its value.
  2. This Item Has Been Viewed N Times
    If the feed is uses FeedBurner's Total Stats PRO service, then you can use our Awareness API to show the total number of times the item has been viewed through the previous full day.
  3. Check Out My Other Feed
    If a publisher manages multiple FeedBurner feeds, use the Feed Management API to randomly select another feed by that publisher and link to it.
  4. Comments, Using The Atom Threading Model
    Use the Atom threading extension to show number of comments (or most recent comment).
  5. Who's Talking Here?
    Link to discussions about this item tracked by TalkDigger.
  6. Feed Circulation
    Use the FeedBurner Awareness API to display the text "This feed has N subscribers." (Basically, FeedCount as FeedFlare.)
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 24 Mar 06 by Ross Belmont.)
  7. Get Stock Quotes
    If the feed uses our Tickerize service, displays a list of tickers mentioned in the item as Flare, and provides a link to list of quotes.
  8. IM Me
    Displays a link similar to our "Email the Author" Flare, but in this case it's for IM (AOL, Google, Yahoo, MSN) instead.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 23 Jul 06 by Matt Sidesinger.)
  9. Subscribe using This
    While we're at it, there could be a whole bunch of these. Subscribe in Yahoo, Subscribe in Bloglines, etc. A Flare best used on the site only.
    Flared! "Subscribe via FeedBlitz Email." Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 08 Feb 06 by Phil Hollows.)
  10. My Team
    Display the score of the latest game your team played, with a link to that team's clubhouse page at a favorite sports portal.
  11. Weather Here
    Displays short text or forecast graphic below an item based on geolocation data, zipcode, or other in-feed address info.
  12. Monkey Alert!
    Flag any post that references a monkey or apes. You'll be pleased to know we've already written this one for you (see Example 5).
  13. TailRank
    Display the number of links to this post at Tailrank.
    Flared! Flare Unit XML (Flared 27 Mar 07 by Orchestr8.)
  14. Show Presence
    Selecting from AIM, Y! Messenger, MSN Messenger, display the link "online now" if the publisher is currently online.
  15. My Ranking
    Echo the publisher's ranking on services like PodNova, Podcast Alley, and other content and podcast directories.
  16. Seed This
    Seed this content item at NewsVine using its URL and title.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 14 Feb 06 by Pat McCarthy.)
  17. Shizzolate This
    A variation on straight-up translation. (Too bad the Shizzolator's no longer actually online.) Have fun with your content; take a look at what some unusual translation services can do with your text.
  18. Readability
    Use an online readability tool on a post. For the bravest of the brave, bulletproof of ego. Some inspiration.
  19. Web 2.0 Buzzword Alert
    Display "Web 2.0 buzzword alert!" if terms such as tagging, AJAX, social networking, blog, podcast, appear in a post. You get to decide which buzzwords, exactly, deserve inclusion!
  20. You Tube Videos
    Employs the YouTube API to display a video that has tags or keywords also featured in the post.
  21. Search Me
    Links to a search for the author's name in Google, Technorati, or another engine that allows "vanity" searches.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 09 Mar 06 by Quick Online Tips.)
  22. BuzzBoost Mini
    Pull in the latest heaine from another feed you publish; cross-promote!
  23. This is Memeorandum'd
    Display a message when this item shows up in tech.memeorandum.
  24. Link to the archives
    Many blogs have an Archives link. Use that link, giving feed subscribers one-click access to that page on the blog.
  25. Link to the blogroll
    Many blogs employ a blogroll. Use that URL as a flare item, giving feed subscribers one-click access to that page on the blog. Use a counter as an enticement, e.g., My Blogroll (10)
  26. Singing Item: The John Cage Flare
    Link to a service that converts the characters of the item to notes and play a MIDI interpretation of feed item.
  27. Advertise Here
    Links to the FeedBurner self-service ad network to post new ads for feed and site distribution. (Coming Soon!)
  28. Technorati Hot Tag Meter
    Shows a visual representation depending on the number of Technorati Hot tags appearing in the post (extra credit: use Bayesian algorithm)
  29. Predictions
    Links to related prediction markets (Wisdom of Crowds).
  30. DropSend This
    If feed item contains a media enclosure, link to DropSend to save that content to your account.
  31. Evite Attendees
    Show how many current "yes" and "maybe" attendees you have for your latest Evite event.
  32. Countdown
    Show the number of days until some event (40th birthday? Retirement? Vesting?)
  33. Auction Watch
    Shows the latest bid and the time left on the auction represented by the item.
  34. Trackback URL
    Shows and links to the Trackback URL for the current item.
  35. coComment on This
    Use the coComment service to comment on the current item.
  36. Number of Diggs
    Displays the number of Diggs the current item has at Digg.com.
  37. Flickr'd
    Flare that only shows up if there are photos at Flickr matching any tags associated with the post. Particularly fun for travel items ... post about Honduras generates a link to photos tagged "Honduras" at Flickr.
  38. Uptime
    Shows the number of days the blog has been published.
  39. Event Promotion
    Display a link to the latest event (like a convention) your company is participating in, including an affiliate discount code.
  40. Printer-Frieny View
    Link to a Printer-Frieny view of the item.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 13 May 06 by Ross Belmont.)
  41. Best Price
    Show the best price for the current item using a price comparison engine. Link to the price comparison engine summary page.
  42. Currently Selling on eBay
    For eBay power-sellers, this dynamic FeedFlare randomly selects one of your current auctions and links to it.
  43. Love It/Hate It
    Two FeedFlares that work together, provides a quick feedback mechanism for readers to communicate to the publisher on a particular item.
  44. Away Message
    Displays the author's current Away message from a popular IM service.
  45. I Want To Do This
    The current item inspires you to create a goal at 43 Things.
  46. Alexa Ranking
    Show the current Alexa ranking for the current site.
    Flared! Get the Flare Unit XML (Flared 05 Apr 06 by Marcus Kazmierczak .)
  47. Add to Friends
    Shows the publisher's current number of friends on MySpace and lets the readers link as a friend.
    Flared! Customize it now (Flared 27 Mar 07 by Orchestr8.)
  48. Currently Hiring
    Using a service like indeed.com, if the company publishing the feed is currently hiring, show the number of positions that are open. If the company is not currently hiring, do not show anything.
  49. Just Found This Interesting
    Display and link to the latest URL that the publisher saved to an online bookmarking service.
    Flared! Customize it now (Flared 27 Mar 07 by Orchestr8.)
  50. See My Profile
    Links to the author's profile at Match.com or other online dating service.
  51. Xbox Live Reputation
    Displays the author's current XBox Live Reputation, as well as link to his or her gamercard.