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RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication”

And if you’re not yet using RSS to keep tabs on the sites you visit regularly, you’re missing out.

RSS is a special format (XML format for those that wanted to know) that allows web content to be shared more efficiently. With RSS there are “things” called RSS Feeds which keep tabs on content from a certain websites so that when that website’s content is updated, you are the first to know.

Some sites have multiple RSS feeds on their site. For example a news site may have RSS feeds for certain categories (e.g. Local News, Sports, Entertainment, etc.) so you can keep up with just the categories you choose.

You grab an RSS Feed from:

1) A site/page where you want to be notified of any updates
2) A site/page that has RSS feeds (some sites still don’t have RSS feeds)

When you “grab” or subscribe to a feed from a website of your choice you add it to an RSS Reader, which is a hub for  all your RSS feeds.

What are the most popular RSS readers out there?

1.  Google Reader
2.  NewsGator
3.  BlogLines

In a way you can think of an RSS reader as your own customized online newspaper filled with content from sites you collected RSS feeds from. Once you sign up for an RSS reader you are ready to subscribe to RSS feeds.

RSS is easily recognizable because of it’s symbol, which looks like:

Do you see where OUR RSS feed is located on our site? Take a look in the right sidebar. See it?

If you want to be informed of the latest news, tips and technologies that will keep your website ahead of your competitors or be informed of special promotions and deals that we offer go ahead and subscribe!

You can subscribe to our RSS Feed right here.

For those of you who stilll don’t quite understand, a great real-life example that is analogous to using RSS feeds is the difference between an old-fashioned movie rental store and Netflix.

Old Way / Old-Fashioned Movie Rental Store:

Just as you would take the time and go to the rental store and see if any movies you want are in, on the Internet we may go to a website and check if it’s been updated.

This is slow and inefficient. The website you check may not be udpated and the movie you wanted to see may not be in the rental store.

RSS Feeds / Netflix:

Netflix allows you to easily add movies you want to see in your queue so you don’t have to check the store or go anywhere, the movies you specify are sent to you. With RSS, you specifiy “your queue” with what RSS feeds you subscribe to and when those websites are updated, the new content is sent to your RSS Reader. You check one place, your RSS reader, and all new content is right there.

Here is a great video from Common Craft on RSS Feeds. It’ll show in more detail what an RSS Reader looks like and how it works.

I hope you’ve come away with a better understanding of what RSS is and why you would use it. RSS is the new “online newspaper” and if you’re not using it, I highly encourage you to start.

Happy reading everyone!

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