What is RSS?

RSS is an alternative view of a web page that allows you to subscribe and read the content in RSS newsreader software. Whenever the web page is updated your newsreader will automatically display the new item.

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and stemmed from RDF (Resource Description Framework ) which was created back in 1997. Version 2.0 of RSS was created by Dave Winer and is now is now licensed under a Creative Commons license and owned by Havard Law School.

On a web page that has a RSS feed you will generally see a logo like one of these:



Then click on the logo and you will be taken to a raw code view of the feed which is in XML (eXtensible Markup Language) although this isn't very readable. What's required is an Aggregator which is a program that can run on your desktop or a number of services can be found online. Try one of these to get started:

http://www.blogbridge.com/
A free aggregator which runs on your desktop suitable for Windows, Mac and Linux.

http://www.2rss.com/news/
Provides a free online rss feed reader.

Once you have an Aggregator or a feed reader service simply cut and paste the URL of the feed into your feed reader and you then have a formatted readable version which updates whenever the feed is updated.

RSS feeds are a great way to keep updated on news and information, website updates and much more.