What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format that allows people to be notified automatically when new content is available on their favorite web sites. This saves you the time and effort needed to check the sites yourself.
To receive these notifications, you need to subscribe to something called a feed, which typically contains some text and links to the web site where the information originally appeared.
Please read on to learn how to subscribe to a feed or watch this video demonstration.
What Do I Need To Do?
Getting started with RSS is a two step process.
Step One:
Get a feed reader. A feed reader is a program that allows you to subscribe to whatever feeds you want; checks automatically to see when they've been updated; and displays the new information for you to read.There are many different feed readers out there, but here are a few free ones to consider:
- Bloglines (web-based)
- AmphetaDesk (desktop-based, works on Mac, Windows, Linux)
- Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 also have built-in feed readers
Simply follow the instructions for registering/installing each product to get your feed reader set up.
Step Two:
Subscribe to a web site's RSS feed. There are several ways to do this, but the easiest one is to look for an RSS feed symbol such as
, click on it, and follow the instructions for subscribing.
Not all web sites have this easy to subscribe option, however. If not, you can right click (control click on a Mac) on the RSS symbol and select Copy Link (the exact wording will vary depending on your browser). Switch to your feed reader and select the Add a Feed (the exact wording may vary) option and paste the URL you copied into the box. Then click the Subscribe button.
Now What?
Sit back and enjoy your new feeds! Whenever you open your feed reader, it will check to see if any new information has been posted to the web sites that you subscribe to. If there is, just click on the title to see it. How easy is that?
