Really Simple RSS Explanation
Things can get confusing with all of the different icons and abbreviations on the web.
HTTP, IMHO, CSS, W3C, L337, HTML, ROFL, XML, PHP, WYSIWYG, RSS, etc.
RSS is Really. Simple. Syndication.
RSS, is a really simple way to keep track of all of your favorite websites. RSS takes all the recent updates from all websites you care about and aggregates them into one, easy to use interface.
Before RSS, I had to visit between 10 and 30 websites everyday to see if they’ve been updateed with new content. It was a huge waste of time! Now I just visit one website that grabs information from all of those pages.
In the following screenshot of my RSS reader, I can see that Katie Holmes might be pregnant again, that there is a new web comic from Penny Arcade, and that there is a potential job that I’m interested in.
How to use RSS
Get an RSS Reader
The RSS reader is the website that aggregates all of your sites. I use Google Reader. If you’re not addicated to Google like I am try Bloglines or My Yahoo.
Subscribing to a Websites RSS
If you’re using Firefox (which you should be), then any site that has an RSS feed with have an address bar with the orange RSS icon. Just click the icon and Firefox will take care of the rest.
Also, many websites will have a link on their website, that link can take many forms. The Micek Design RSS is in the upper left area of this website. Image from Smashing Magazine
All you need to do to subsribe is click on the RSS link, or copy the link address into your RSS reader.
So thats it! Try it out and see if you like it!
