RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a way of subscribing to a website or blog differently than email updates. Each website has its own RSS feed address that you enter into an RSS reader that will then update automatically every time a new post is published. So instead of going to each blog individually, you can go to your reader to view all the news from the websites you’re following.
Because most people refer to email updates or social media networks to read their news, you might hear people say ‘RSS is dead.’ But if you’re looking for one place to be able to check news without the extra noise or inbox overload, RSS readers are a great option for you.
When you go to a site you enjoy checking frequently, look for the RSS address for their blog, which is just a standard URL that has been designated to update with the site’s feed. (See example in the video.)
Google Reader is an easy option when picking an RSS reader. Most of us are using a Google product of some kind, so going to http://google.com/reader you’ll likely find it’s convenient to start using. It’s really easy to separate different sites as you see fit into categories using “tags,” and share buttons are easily accessible if you want to be able to share news to your networks.
To add a new feed to your reader, just click ‘Subscribe’ and enter the RSS web address and hit ‘Enter’. You’ll know if the feed is correct because the last 10 or so posts will appear as unread.
Are you using RSS or do you prefer another option?
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