All About RSS And RSS Feed Readers

You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing an article that comes from another source such as a website.
 
An RSS is a means of publicizing updates about websites. RSS can be viewed by the use of an RSS feed reader. It may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they could decide later on if they want to access the website source. The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating from the website. It is also usually the link to the website source.
 
What are the benefits of RSS?
 
RSS gives benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.
 
1. It gives you the latest updates.
 
Whether it is about the weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new posting from a rarely-updates site learn about the latest as soon as it comes out.
 
2. It lessens the clutter in your inbox.
 
Although your email address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the updates. An RSS feed reader is used to view the RSS feeds.
 
What are the drawbacks of RSS?
 
The disadvantages of RSS use are brought about by its being a new technology and some user-preference concerns.
 
1.    Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed reader.
2.    Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds.
3.    The identity of the source website can be confusing.
 
How do I start using RSS?
 
There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator or RSS feedreader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website. There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds of different websites. An RSS feed reader is used to read the RSS feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.
 
An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program also known as a desktop aggregator and an online or web-based aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before they can be acquired.  Downloadable aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.
 
1.    Choose an RSS feed reader to use.
 
2.    Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 provides a directory of websites that support RSS.
 
3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in your RSS feed reader.
 
There is a space provided for pasting the code.
 
After you have done these three easy steps, you can start reading the RSS feeds coming from the website with your RSS feed reader. New postings appear as they are published real time at the source website.