RSS (Rich
Site Summary; originally RDF Site
Summary; often called Really
Simple Syndication) uses a family of standard web feed formats to publish frequently updated information: blog entries, news headlines, audio, video.
An RSS document (called "feed", "web feed", or "channel") includes full or
summarized text, and metadata,
like publishing date and author's name.
RSS feeds enable publishers to syndicate data automatically. A standard XML file format ensures compatibility with
many different machines/programs. RSS feeds also benefit users who want to
receive timely updates from favorite websites or to aggregate data from many
sites.
Subscribing to a website RSS removes the need for the user to
manually check the website for new content. Instead, their browser constantly
monitors the site and informs the user of any updates. The browser can also be
commanded to automatically download the new data for the user.
"RSS" is about getting live web feeds
directly to your computer. RSS takes the latest headlines from different
websites and pushes those headlines down to your computer for quick scanning.
The acronym RSS stands for
many versions of the same thing.
- Really
Simple Syndication
- Rich
Site Summary (RSS 0.91)
- RDF
Site Summary (RSS 0.9 and 1.0)
- Real-time
Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
In each of the above meanings, the purpose is the
same: to have web sites of your choice deliver their latest news
directly to your monitor.
So instead of having to visit 14 different places
to get your weather, sports, favorite photos, latest gossip, or latest
political debates, you just go to one screen and see it combined
("aggregated") into a single window.
The RSS headlines and stories are effectively immediate. Once published at the source server, RSS headlines take only moments to get to your screen.
The RSS headlines and stories are effectively immediate. Once published at the source server, RSS headlines take only moments to get to your screen.
Why You Would Use RSS:
- News. To get the freshest news on
your favorite celebrity, the country you are about to visit, or your
favorite sports team.
- Hobby
interests. If
you are a motorcyclist, a skier, a pottery enthusiast, or perhaps a dog
trainer, hundreds of conversations and bits of hobby advice can be fed
directly to your screen.
- Photos. If you like to change your computer wallpaper daily, then RSS feeds are an excellent way to get the latest from photographers on the Web.
- Reading your friends' blogs. If you have loved ones around the globe who do blogging, then you can have all their latest entries fed directly to your screen. This is very helpful for families when one of their own is in the military serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or Africa...a good way to read about how they are doing during their military assignment.
- Politics
If you
are helping a political candidate get elected, then RSS is an invaluable
tool for watching popular opinion and blog postings.
- Jokes
and Inspirational Quotes Add a clean laugh to your morning, or a
pick-me-up quote from a famous person...RSS can do that for you.
- Currency
Exchange Rates If
you are planning a trip to another country, you can watch for when the
best time is to buy that currency.
How it Works:
- Behind
the scenes RSS
headlines are really simple text files that the publishing web master
submits to a special feed server. That RSS feed server, in turn, pushes
the text file to the screens of its subscribers. Time lag is usually 30
seconds to 30 minutes before the subscribers see the updates. In most
cases, the lag is not even noticeable.
- To
Get Started: you choose an RSS reader tool for yourself.
Most RSS readers are free to use and easy to learn. - Setup
Your Screen: you load the RSS feeds into your reader tool.This is achieved through
multiple different ways. You can visit the web feed site directly, you can
copy-paste the special code from an email, or you can load copies from
your friend's RSS reader screen.
- Then
you start reading your web feed news!You simply log in to your RSS reader page or
start your RSS software, and you can scan all your web feeds instantly.
You can arrange the RSS feeds into folders, just like email, and you can
even set alerts and sounds for when a particular web feed is updated.
Examples of RSS Readers:
Examples of RSS
Feed Sources:
Link to other blog post:
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