Would you like to be notified of updates to your favorite websites? Use an RSS
reader, and you won't have to check all of the websites yourself. Many
websites are publishing RSS feeds to communicate with their
audience. An RSS feed contains headlines, news, and links that you can receive
and read by using an RSS reader. You can subscribe to as many RSS feeds as you
like, and read them all in one place.
As you read about RSS, you may come across some unfamiliar terminology, but
subscribing to and reading RSS feeds is actually very simple.
What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Some websites and
web blogs use RSS to notify their readers of new content, by publishing
an RSS feed. Websites that have an RSS feed are referred to as syndicated.
RSS files are written in XML code. To read the files,
you need to subscribe to the RSS feed using a program called an RSS
reader (also known as an RSS aggregator). Your RSS reader will convert
the XML code to text which you can read.
Reasons to Use RSS
- Receive updates from your favorite websites all from one place.
- Keep up to date with news and announcements as they happen.
- Scan postings and read only what interests you.
- Store content in folders that you can organize.
- Subscribe or unsubscribe to feeds at any time.
- Share the content you receive with others.
What it Looks Like
An RSS posting usually contains headlines and summaries, and links to
more content. The amount of information and layout varies from feed to
feed. The image below contains the feed produced by the Corporation for
National and Community Service, viewed in Bloglines. Bloglines is a web-based RSS reader, which means that you look at your RSS feeds on the Bloglines website.
All RSS feed subscriptions are displayed on the left. The
Corporation for National and Community Service feed is selected, and
postings are displayed on the right. The titles are linked to the
complete articles that are located on the Corporation's website.
For more information on Bloglines, read the reference library article, Using Bloglines to Read RSS Feeds.
Types of RSS Readers
A web-based reader is one of two types of RSS readers. The other
type requires that you download a program to your computer. Some of
these programs integrate into your e-mail program, and others work as a
stand-alone application.
Web-based readers include:
Readers you can download to your computer include:
Because most readers are free, you can try various programs to find
the one you like best. For larger lists of RSS Readers, visit the DMOZ Open Directory Project or the Wikipedia List of News Aggregators. Finding RSS Feeds
When you register with an RSS Reader, you may be given a list of suggested feeds to subscribe to.
Although many websites have a feed, not all of them do. To find out
if a website publishes a feed, and if it does, to subscribe to it:
- Open your RSS Reader.
- Visit a website you wish to subscribe to.
- Look for an XML button
 (or RSS button) somewhere on the website's homepage.
- Click on the XML button, and you will see the XML code displayed in your web browser.
- Copy the URL displayed in your browser's address bar.
- Paste the URL into the subscribe feature of your reader.
• Subscribing to a feed will vary depending upon which reader you are using. Most readers have an add or subscribe link/button, which displays a text box to paste in an RSS URL.
Another way you can find out if a website has an RSS feed is to use an RSS finder, such as BlogStreet's RSS Directory. You can type in a website address, and see if an RSS URL is available. |
