What Is RSS?

Ever since I discovered Google Reader and what an RSS is, I have subscribed to nearly 80 blogs, or their RSS feeds. You can also read about how to create more followers, which is slightly related.


WHAT IS RSS? So what exactly is RSS and why is it so important? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (also known as Rich Site Summary). Basically, it's a way to organize, or syndicate, magazine articles (i.e. blog posts). At whatisrss.com, they say:

RSS (Rich Site Summary) is a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it.

WHY RSS? Four main reasons: get organized, stay informed, save time, keep your privacy.

1. Get organized. Reading RSS feeds allows you to view all your favorite blog sites in one location. 
2. Stay informed. Blog readers like to stay informed. It's a lot easier when you, as a reader, are organized.
3. Save time. When you're organized and subscribe to RSS feeds, it saves you time from having to visit each blog individually. Of course, you can still visit the actual blog to leave a comment.
4. Keep your privacy. Using RSS allows you to NOT have to join each site's e-mail newsletter. AND you'll have fewer e-mails to filter through, too!

HOW TO RSS? To read your RSS feeds, you will also have to have a Feed Reader. My favorite is Google Reader. Of course, I haven't tried any other ones. I'm sure they all have a few different features.

• A variety of RSS Readers are available for different platforms. Some popular feed readers include Amphetadesk (Windows, Linux, Mac), FeedReader (Windows), and NewsGator (Windows - integrates with Outlook). 
• There are also a number of web-based feed readers available. My Yahoo, Bloglines, and Google Reader are popular web-based feed readers. 
• [SOURCE: whatisrss.com - quote with links]

Well, have fun reading! Hope you subscribe to my blog's RSS feed!