What Is RSS and How Can I Use It?
Many websites these days have content that is updated on a consistent basis (such as news websites, blogs, audio podcasts, and video vodcasts). Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with all of the different sites you visit every day to read the updated content.
This is one issue that I have because there are several blogs I try to keep up with (like problogger.net, lifehacker.com, yfncg.com and MakeUseOf.com) and I like to keep up with the news (local, regional, national, etc.) because I don’t watch television that much. Trying to visit each site before going to work would become quite the chore if it weren’t for something called “RSS.” - check out the wikipedia article
RSS today is referred to as “Really Simple Syndication.” Basically, publishers of content can use this new(ish) technology to easily “syndicate” updates to make it easier for us to find and read it. The two major ways I like to read syndicated content is by receiving updates in my email box (made possible by services like feedburner using RSS) and a FEED reader.
A feed reader is a program, either local on your computer or web-based, that you use to “grab” the various feeds you read and let you know when they are updated. I personally prefer a web-based service like Google Reader because I can access it on whichever computer I like to (there are 2 laptops in my house and I’m occasionally somewhere without either of them). A feed reader usually does a good job of helping you organize your feeds into different categories and even have options of highlighting articles you’d like to find later.
I’ve personally tried several different online feed readers and have fallen in love with Google Reader. It is very quick, easy to organize by letting me drag and drop feeds into folders, lets me easily star articles for either sharing with friends or returning to later, and has been pretty user friendly and reliable.
As you can see in my sidebar, I have given 2 choices for keeping up with updates to this blog: via email and via RSS feed subscription. If you prefer getting email reminding you of updates, go ahead and subscribe that way. If you are sick of your email box constantly being inundated with stuff, try a reader and subscribe to the feed. Either way, I’d be happy to have you subscribe to my feed!
What’s your opinion? Would you rather receive email updates, subscribe using a reader, or actually visit every site you read from daily?
coffee cup icon downloaded from and designed by fasticon.com and was found via smashingmagazine.com
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