What Is RSS?

What is RSS and what does it do? RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an efficient internet method to gather information from news sources, blogs, and websites, which are constantly being changed, added to or revised. A RSS reader looks at these chosen sources automatically, picks up any changes, and then sends them directly to the subscriber via a program called an Aggregator.

You as the subscriber need to install two things to make this happen. First, you download a free Aggregator program and install it on the desktop of your computer. Second, you select the sources that you want to automatically collect information from and register it through the aggregator.

The aggregator program then checks these website sources on a routine basis and sends back any new information that it finds on the RSS feed. The returned display will be limited to a title or blurb that gives you an idea about the information. If it's interesting, click on it to get the entire entry from the RSS feed.

The big advantage of an RSS feed is that it is automatic and saves you time. The RSS feed removes the necessity for a number of emails from the sources and relieves you of checking multiple sites manually for new information. By having the websites checked routinely, you are not likely to miss any new information. You will receive an alert that something new is now available to be read. This automatic and efficient method of collecting sourced information you want to see, accounts, for the popularity of RSS feeds. The time saved by using RSS feeds can be substantial over a year of use. Reducing the chance of missing timely information is the other major value of RSS.

Step 2 - The benefits of using RSS