Next Generation Learning and popular websites like Yahoo, BBC, MSN and Google feature RSS, but what is it?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is a really simple way to stay up to date with new content on your favourite websites.
Instead of visiting individual websites to see what’s new, you get automatic updates from many sites in one place. It’s a real time saver if you follow lots of different sites. And because you don’t have to supply any personal information to use it, RSS ensures your privacy too.
With RSS, you choose to receive updates from favourite websites through ‘feeds’ and ‘readers’.
An RSS feed is:
• an instruction to pull updates from a website
• usually as simple as clicking on the RSS logo and confirming that you want to subscribe to the feed.
An RSS feed reader is:
• a central place to grab and store all feeds, so you have multiple updates in one place.
Some popular feed readers include Google Reader, NewGator and FeedDemon. Most are free to install and some can work on many operating systems.
Once you have your feed reader:
• look for sites that support RSS (many sites display a small icon with the acronyms RSS, XML, or RDF)
• subscribe to the feed you’re interested in
• view the updates via your feed reader.
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