What is a Feed and RSS?

Recently I was wondering how many of the website users are familiar with subscribing to "Feeds" and understand what "RSS" really is all about. I don't often bring you technical advice because it is not the nature of the site, but I believe that this is a useful and time-saving technology that people should understand the basics.

So I've decided to do a short and informative little post about this technology and how it can make your life a little bit simpler.

Quick Introduction to RSS

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and is a technology that allows a website to announce and share it's updates to a large audience. The "Feed" is a document containing the update information which is shared out. So when you are subscribing to a website's "feed" you are asking it to inform you of updates.

This is not quite the same as an e-mail subscription which sends you a message directly. RSS is a passive technology which you must ask the website for this update file. It sounds a bit complicated but once you get in to the swing of things it becomes a real time saver.

How do I use a Feed

There are several ways to use feeds to your advantage. You can integrate them in to your homepage, such as Yahoo or Google. You can subscribe to "Live Bookmarks" if you are using Firefox web browser, and you can also use a web-based news reader application.

Adding a Feed to my Homepage

Most websites have a little orange icon which is the internationally known image for RSS. The large image on this article is one example, and there is another example on the right side of the page which is much smaller.

By clicking on that icon you can add the feed to your homepage or news reader application.

Adding Feeds with Chicklets

Chicklets are simple graphics that help the user add the feed to their homepage or reader. They must be created and provided by the website owner.

Live Bookmarks in Firefox

Firefox is a very popular web browser that gives you a lot more functionality than Internet Explorer. One of it's many popular features is the Live bookmarks. A "Live Bookmark" a kind of website subscription that automatically downloads links to the latest articles from your favourite websites.

To add a live bookmark simply click on the "Bookmarks" menu at the top of your screen and then select "Subscribe to this Page"

Now when you open your bookmarks you will have a folder containing links to all the latest articles from that website, which is dynamically updated.

News Reader Programs

Probably one of the most common programs for reader the news is Google's News Reader. It is quite an easy application to use and it allows you to keep track of many websites all in one place. It automatically scans all the websites you add for updates and then presents only the latest articles for your review. It's my personal favourite option and the one I use daily.

There are many other options such as BlogLines, NetVibes and NewsGator available, but I find Google makes the process incredibly simple and easy to use.

Source:http://www.masonictravels.com/2008/01/what-is-feed-and-rss.html