RSS Explained
What the heck is a ‘feed’ and why is it better?
The whole feed concept was puzzling to me so I thought I’d offer an explanation of what it is and why you’re better off getting your online content by feed.
Blogs are conversations that we hold electronically. You initiate the conversation by visiting the blog (and hopefully leaving a comment). It’s sort of like visiting with the neighbor across the back fence. If you read many blogs like I do (about 10-15 a day) that’s an awful lot of time walking back and forth to the fence to hear the latest news.
An RSS feed (which stands for really simple syndication- obviously a misnomer) is a way to bring those conversations to you, directly to your computer desktop via a feed reader. Each blog feed that you subscribe to will notify you when a new post is available to read, whether that’s one a week or one a day. Nice part about that is you can stay up to date on all the latest talk without wearing out your ‘virtual shoes’. That’s the reason I think feeds are better.
How to I subscribe to an RSS feed?
Easy. First, you need a feed reader or aggregator. It gathers up your feeds for you. Personally, I like the Yahoo reader. I find it easy to organize. Most people prefer the Google reader because it’s simple to install and use.
To get your Google reader, go to www.reader.google.com and follow the directions. The reader will then be part of your internet browser. Definitely wathc the demo video so you can really make good use of it. Now that you have a reader, here’s how to subscribe.
To subscribe to a blog’s feed, click on the orange symbol typically found in the right, top corner of the blog or website and follow the instructions. That orange square is the universal symbol for RSS feed. It’s just that simple.
Now, go ahead and subscribe to thismarriagething right now:
