RSS Explained - Discover "Really Simple Syndication"
RSS Explained: RSS: Really Simple Syndication. It is a means of obtaining information by subscribing to any website that provides RSS feeds. You will need an RSS reader (aggregator) Users are notified when new content is made available and have a choice of which information they would like to subscribe or unsubscribe to anytime. An RSS reader is a small software package that allows you to obtain an RSS feed in a readable format.
Why Do I need It?
RSS will save you time, for example you may have a number of websites that you visit regularly, depending on the website, information contained on the site may be updated anywhere from every couple of months, to every few minutes. News sites are typically updated constantly, jumping from site to site and then looking to see if any information has been updated can be very time consuming. At times the new information may not be of interest to you.
RSS is a fantastic alternative to e-mail subscriptions or newsletter's. RSS does not have the issues with spam that is commonly associated with the e-mail. Unlike e-mail, RSS feeds do not require the user to provide contact information. The user may subscribe and unsubscribe at will. This has proven to be one of the most redeemable features of RSS.
How Do I Subscribe to RSS Feeds?
Once you have your RSS reader, go to the website that you wish to subscribe to, and find the RSS icon or link, click, and paste the subscription URL into your reader. This procedure will vary a little between RSS readers. A short list of free RSS readers can be found further down in this article. Some readers together with websites provide an option whereby the availability of RSS is detected automatically.You may then subscribe or decline.
NOTE: Not all websites display the headlines only. It is also common for the complete information to be contained in the feed. It is up to the website providing the feed to determine how the new info is presented.
RSS is the solution
By using an RSS reader, any information that has been updated by any of the websites that you subscribe to, will be listed in the reader. Think of it as another version of your browser. So now you will have a well-organised list of updated information all in one place, saving you potentially hours of time.
Most people will categorize the sites they subscribe to, similarly to your favorites folder in your browser. Whenever any of your subscribed sites are updated, your RSS reader will indicate how many updates and a headline title for each site. You then have the option to read the information contained in the update, or choose to ignore it if it is of no interest to you. Of course if you wish to go direct to the website, then simply click on the relevant link.
ScreenShot: Googles RSS Reader
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