RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication", and is a protocol that websites use to distribute their content. Websites that use RSS create special files, called "feeds", that are updated periodically to contain the site's latest information.
Do you want to keep up to date with the latest posts on this BLOG ? ? ? ?
We have a number of ways that you can subscribe to this site and receive updates. The main one that our readers use is our RSS feed . But what is RSS?
What is RSS?
In the ‘old days’ of the web to keep track of updates on a website you had to ‘bookmark’ websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see what had been added.
The problems with bookmarking
- You as the web surfer had to do all the work
- It can get complicated when you are trying to track many websites at once
- You miss information when you forget to check your bookmarks
- You end up seeing the same information over and over again on sites that don’t update very often
RSS Changes Everything
What if you could tell a website to let you know every time that they update? In a sense, this is what RSS does for you.
RSS flips things around a little and is a technology that provides you with a method of getting relevant and up to date information sent to you for you to read in your own time. It saves you time and helps you to get the information you want quickly after it was published.
RSS stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication’. Many people describe it as a ‘news feed’ that you subscribe to.
I find the ’subscription’ description helpful. It’s like subscribing to a magazine that is delivered to you periodically but instead of it coming in your physical mail box each month when the magazine is published it is delivered to your ‘RSS Reader’ every time your favorite website updates.
How RSS actually technically works is probably a lesson for another day but the key today is for you to understand why it’s good and how to use it.
Let me say right up front that I’m not the most technically savvy guy going around - but even I can use RSS. At first I found it a little strange to make the change from bookmarking to RSS but I found that when I started that I just couldn’t stop.
How to Use RSS
Get an RSS Reader - The first thing you’ll want to do if you’re getting into reading sites via RSS is to hook yourself up with an RSS Feed Reader.
There are many feed readers going around with a variety of approaches and features - however a good place to start is with a couple of free and easy to use web based ones like Google Reader and Bloglines. Either one will do if you’re starting out (I use Google’s Reader) - as I say there are many others to choose from but to get started either of these are fairly easy to use and will help you work out the basics of RSS.
Both of these feed readers work a little like email. As you subscribe to feeds you’ll see that unread entries from the sites you’re tracking will be marked as bold. As you click on them you’ll see the latest update and can read it right there in the feed reader. You are given the option to click through to the actual site or move onto the next unread item - marking the last one as ‘read’.
The best way to learn how to use either Google Reader or Blog lines is to simply subscribe to some feeds and give it a go. Both have helpful help sections to get you up and running.
Okay, I've got an RSS Reader. Now how do I subscribe to a site's feed?
If a feed exists for a site, many modern browsers will display an RSS icon (
On any page if you scroll to the bottom of just about any page and look to the right, you will see a RSS icon. Clicking on this icon will take you to a page with links to four different feeds. If you use My Yahoo!, Google Reader, or My AOL, there are special links that will add the selected feed directly to your Reader. Otherwise, click on the "RSS" link. Depending on which browser you use, you will either be prompted to add the feed to your default RSS Reader or you will have to copy the URL and enter it manually into your RSS Reader.
onethanx@aol.com
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