The Joy of RSS

Last week, I promised that I would tell you all about. If you're under 25, you probably learned about how to read an RSS feed before reading a book, so no need to go further. For everyone else, prepare to be rocked.

So, first of all, what is RSS? It stands for Really Simple Syndication (in its infant stages, it stood for Rich Site Summary). It's used to "push" content from a website to a viewer.

The idea is, a web author updates a special file every time they put new content on their website (whether it's a new article on CNN, a new blog post on Megan's Pink Blog, or a new LOLcats picture on ICanHasCheezBurger). You can look for a special symbol to verify that a website is RSS-enabled:

Usually it's a tad bit smaller on the website. To see one "in the wild", you can go to CNN's website and scroll down about 3/4 of the way to the bottom. In the left hand column, there's a cluster of links (RSS Feeds, Emails, CNN Mobile...). CNN actually has several feeds so you can determine if you want to be updated on sports news, international news, etc.

Meanwhile, from the comfort of your own home, you find your favorite reader and "subscribe" to the feed. The reader does the work of checking all of your subscriptions to see what's new. First, let's talk about readers...

I use Google Reader, or GReader as I affectionately call it. But, you can use an add-in for Microsoft Outlook so that it's delivered to you like e-mail. Or, if you use Firefox, it has a built-in reader that displays headlines from a button on the toolbar. I also have a widget on a sidebar of my regular desktop on Windows Vista that has a reader built right into it (neat-o). I like GReader the best, though.

Once you choose your reader, you need to "subscribe" to the feeds you want. Your reader has a way to do this, and most websites will even subscribe for you if you click on their RSS link (but it may or may not work with your reader). With Google's Reader you can even search for interesting feeds. And, in true Google fashion, after it gets to know you it will suggest feeds you might like.

Why is this so great? Well, if you're like I was, you have your usual route of websites that you troll on a daily basis. The problem is, sometimes you forget one. Or maybe you get distracted mid-troll and my, look at how much time has gone by and you're only half way through your list! Or maybe you're lazy. Anyway, I like that my favorite websites tell me when they have new content. It simplifies my life. And all the kids are doing it.

Rusty, looking over my shoulder (of course) has pointed out that many people may not really benefit from this because mine is the only website they read. Well, that may be true, but it would be pretty egotistical for me to think that, so I hope you find this useful.