What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format for sharing and distributing regularly changing web content, such as news headlines. Many news-related sites, weblogs and other online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS Feed to whoever wants it. It takes the hassle out of staying up-to-date, by showing you the very latest information that you are interested in.

How do I start using RSS feeds?

To read RSS feeds, you need a tool called feed reader (also known as a news reader or an aggregator). For each webfeed that you subscribe to, your feed reader will check that feed regularly and list all the latest headlines (and summaries, if available) from that site, in order by date and time. Most are inexpensively priced, and many others are free. There are four basic kinds of feed readers:

• Stand-alone software applications
• Web-based services
• Web browsers with built-in feed readers
• Plug-ins or extensions for existing popular web browsers