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What do you know about RSS Feeds? If you answered with a, “Whatawhoda?” or a, “Not much,” let’s shed some light on the subject.

R-S-S…What It Means
First things first, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. Ok, what does syndication mean again? Don’t bother skipping over to dictionary.com, I already got you covered. In this particular context syndication refers to the immense variety of media available to you on the web including blogs, news articles, podcasts, weather reports, entertainment stories and all other media that is updated on a regular basis. So, RSS is a really simple way to stay up to date with these forms of internet publications (syndicates).

R-S-S…What It Does
The idea behind RSS feeds, or channels, is to make it easy for the user to know when their favorite sites have been updated. Rather than visiting each site individually, the user can set up a feed that is a one stop shop for all updates. (Before I continue, I would like to clarify that there is a somewhat bizarre distinction here between user and reader. I use “user” to refer to a person who utilizes RSS feeds and “reader” to refer to a downloadable program which is used to organize feeds). After the user downloads a reader and subscribes to feeds, the reader automatically downloads material that is added to the sites whenever it is added. Some RSS feeds/readers provide the user with the entire text while others provide a short summary.

R-S-S…Who It’s For: Two Groups
The draw of RSS feeds for the user is that it saves time and makes staying up to date easy. As for those who write/publish/host media on a website, they reap a benefit as well. RSS feeds are a great way to gain exposure and make your websites information readily available.

How To Get An RSS Reader
In order to begin subscribing to RSS feeds, you will first need a Reader. Readers are sometimes called RSS Feeders or Aggregators. RSS readers are available on the internet free of charge, or you can purchase a reader program at a software store. PLEASE NOTE: If you are using Firefox or Safari you probably have a reader already and will be able to start subscribing to feeds without downloading anything. However, if you are using Internet Explorer you will still need to get a reader. Getting yourself a reader should prove to be quite simple considering there are LOTS of people out there who want to give you one…for free. I recommend using Google reader: www.google.com/reader.

How To Get An RSS Feed
Once you have the reader on your computer you can begin to subscribe to your favorite websites RSS feeds. This can be done in two ways. #1 Type the website link directly into your reader/feeder/aggregator/monkeymaker and add it to your subscriptions #2 Click on the RSS feed that is located on the website (usually an icon that says RSS, XML, or a link). Of course, these options are only possible if the website has been set up with a feed (not all websites have an RSS feed). The reader will then do all the work of downloading website updates for you and then notify you of them (usually denoted in the toolbar at the top of the screen or else in the reader). Remember, the types of websites that are going to have feeds are those with information that is updated frequently…news, weather, blogs,…what interests YOU? ***To subscribe to this sites RSS feed, simply click the “Article Feed” link in the top right hand corner of your screen***

Next Time: User vs. Advertiser
This post has been geared towards the novice RSS feed user/subscriber, teaching what an RSS feed is and how to subscribe to them. The next post will be geared towards those of you who would like to use RSS feeds to gain exposure for your website. Together we will learn how to create a feed for our sites and how to make them available to the masses. And so the journey begins, slow and steady. YEE-HAW!