RSS Feed FAQ

What is RSS?

RSS is basically just a condensed version of a website’s content stripped into a “feed” that certain programs can read. The actual feed looks pretty scary in its raw form.

Don’t worry though – it’s actually pretty easy to set up and use, and you don’t have to mess with the code in the link above at all.

What do the letters stand for? 

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, but it is also sometimes used as an acronym for Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary. They are all technically accurate, but without getting into semantics it is simply a publishing tool for a website that gives users more control and accessibility to the content they want to receive. 

What does it do?

RSS pulls the content from specific sections of a website and creates a feed which allows users to select the content they want to subscribe to and essentially republish it on their own page through a feed reader, news aggregator or other such syndication program.  This way, users can target feeds from multiple websites to their personalized page and read the most recent headlines from several sites without having to go to each site individually. Then, if they see a headline that interests them, they can click on that headline and navigate directly to the relevant story or section of that website. 

You can also access some feeds from the more advanced cell phones or PDAs so that you can keep up to date on news, sports scores, your favorite blog or the stock market while on the go. Depending on your service contract for data transfers for your cell phone or PDA this can get pricey - so make sure you know what your provider charges and how their pricing structure works before using this feature.

How can I use it?

There are many feed-readers available, all with their own customizable features and looks. They also have their own way to set their program up, so by going to their websites you can find directions on how to set up and use each one. There are several free ones available in addition to some applications that cost. Some require registration or an e-mail address through their site, while others do not.

The following list is a good place to start, but is by no means exhaustive.

Feedreader

MyYahoo!

Google Reader

Newsgator

My MSN

My AOL

netvibes 

Bloglines

Pageflakes

How you do it

To subscribe to an RSS feed, you need the following:

1.  An RSS reader or news aggregator (follow the links above)

2.  The url (web address) of the feed to which you want to subscribe

Download a news aggregator or feed reader and install it on your computer, or create an account with an online aggregator like MyYahoo!, MyMSN, or Google Reader. Then just follow the instructions on their website as to how their specific application can be set up and used. 

The most common way to add a feed to your reader is to just paste the url into the appropriate section of your reader to add the feed to your list, but each one works a little differently. The url usually looks something like this: 1.xml, but can be found on most sites hiding behind a graphic similar to one of these: 

To get the url you should be able to either click on a button similar to one of the ones above to be taken to a page that will list various categories and the appropriate url for each. You should then be able to take the url from a feed (right-click the link or the button and choose "copy shortcut" to select it) and paste it into your feed-reader according to its instructions.