What is RSS and why should you use it?

I’m sure you’ve heard about RSS, but that doesn’t mean you’re one of the 10 % or so of people using it. This happens mainly because RSS is for people who know little more than your average Joe who uses a computer. That doesn’t necessary means it’s hard to understand and use, that’s why I’ll try in this post to define that RSS is, how and why should you use it on a daily basis.

RSS Logo

What is RSS

First, RSS comes from Really Simple Syndication which means a really simple way of distributing content on Internet. RSS appeared as a response to the need to simplify the process of keeping in touch with news from multiple websites, a method that was meant to get rid of the habbit of visiting the sites you like once in a few hours to see if something new was published.

If you like, RSS is the opposite way of checking news on multiple URLs. RSS notifies you which website has new content and gives you links to that content. You then decide what is worth reading. You just have to check in one place to see what was published on 10 other places: your RSS reader program.

You have two options: install an RSS reader program (FeedDemon is free and one of the best), or use an online one (Google Reader shines here). After this step all you have to do is gather feeds and start monitoring them for new articles.

RSS feed signaled in Firefox

A feed is the URL where your RSS reader checks for new content on a given website. You can get that address by checking for the RSS logo on the websites you like and copy that link and paste it in the field that appears in your RSS program when you make a new subscription. Alternatively you can press that button that opens a dialog in your browser asking where you want this subscription to go (in which RSS reader program from your computer), or you can check for the RSS logo in your browser’s toolbar or Adress bar.

Why should I use RSS?

There’s one big reason: it saves you time, as you don’t have to visit every site you like to check for content: new articles show up in your RSS reader. Plus online RSS readers like Google Reader synchronize what you’re already read all over the Internet, so you won’t read stuff twice because you’ve accessed it at work and then at home.

Video tutorials about RSS