Let’s talk about RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and it has simplified the way that people stay up to date with their favourite websites. RSS readers work in a really easy way.

Step 1: Add your favourite websites’ addresses to the feed reader

Step 2: Read

Feed readers put all the websites in one place and every time something new is added (such as an article, photo, video etc) it shows up in your feed reader. Feed readers have also made web browsing more private, as there isn’t a messy history trail that shows which sites you’ve visited. They also cut down on advertising and spam (to date, the only advertising that has slipped through is Google’s Adwords).

Feed readers can also allow you to share posts and articles with your friends through a simple click, and it will show up in their own feeds to read at their own leisure. RSS readers are a great way for to cut through email fatigue and spam filters, as your audience wants to stay in touch with your message. If at any point you want to stop receiving a certain feed, you just press the Unsubscribe button and the website is removed from your feeds.
The most popular feed reader is Google Reader and seamlessly blends into existing Gmail accounts.

Other popular feed readers are Newzcrawler, FeedDemon, Omea Reader, NewsGator Online Services and Blog Navigator. The most recent release of Microsoft Outlook and Mozilla Thunderbird also supports RSS feeds so you can stay up to date with your favourite websites or follow stock price announcements without leaving your email program.