RSS: Not just for "techies" anymore!
For those of you who don't know much about Really Simple Syndication (RSS), I'll give you a really simple definition. ;-)
RSS (which is also sometimes referred to as "Rich Site Summary") is a type of web feed based on something called XML code. What it actually allows you to do is pull fresh content from an unlimited number of web sites to a single location. You sign up to have different RSS feeds delivered to something called a reader or an aggregator, and when the sites you subscribe to add content, the information just comes rolling in!
With RSS, you don't have to keep going back again and again to check on your favorite blogs or web sites... if there's something new, your aggregator will grab it for you!
So how many people are actually using this time-saving strategy?
That's a statistic no one seems to be able to agree on...
According to Forrester, only 2 percent of the people online in the US are using RSS, while JupiterResearch estimates that number at something more like 12 percent. Yahoo tells us, however, that 31 percent of online users use RSS, through services like My Yahoo and My MSN. But -- as Yahoo freely admits -- they might not understand that RSS technology is what's at work!
That's why Microsoft's RSS-friendly Vista browser -- the brand-new version of Internet Explorer currently out in beta testing, but planned for full release in the last months of 2006 -- plans to make subscribing to web site feeds as easy as adding a bookmark to your browser.
The aggregator comes built-in, which -- yet again -- brings out the simple in Really Simple Syndication!
If you're interested in using RSS to pick up info from your regular reads on the Web, check out the aggregators offered by some of web sites I've got listed in my blog sidebar: My Yahoo, My MSN, Bloglines, and Feedburner are a few of the services I use personally.
Not only do RSS readers keep me in touch with the latest news and ideas on the Web, they save me hours of surfing on a daily basis. And with the amount of time I've been spending on airplanes (and waiting to get on airplanes... and driving to catch airplanes... and sleeping off jet lag... ) lately, that's a very good thing!
(Oh... and make sure to add my RSS feed when you try out one of these readers... )
Comments
Also there's a quick extension called WIZ reader to use with Mozilla's Firefox browser to include RSS with your surfing.
Posted by: Kurt Sommers | February 28, 2006 08:30 PM
I just thought I point out that Firefox already has RSS integration. RSS feeds in your bookmarks will show new articles (sometimes called "live bookmarks").
Firefox is an alternative web browser to Microsoft's Internet Explorer. It is based off of the old Netscape browser. It's quite popular now, thanks to features like the RSS integration and tabbed browsing.
If you're using Firefox now, you should see an Orange icon that kinda looks like radio waves. It could possibly be in the URL bar, or possibly somewhere else in your browser. If you click on it, you will be able to add Derek's blog as a Live Bookmark.
Posted by: Gary Richardson | March 1, 2006 09:28 AM
Another great use for RSS is drawing fresh content to your own site. If you are technically savy or have a web developer working on your site you are able to capture content such as this blog and display that content on your own site. This usually requires some programming to setup but is a great way to keep fresh, updated content on your site without actually creating all that content your self.
Posted by: M. Scott Reinders | March 2, 2006 01:23 PM
One other beautiful thing about RSS...
If you're not a fan of Firefox, and do not wish to switch browsers.
If you don't know how to use a fancy "Aggregator" tool..
Using www.rmail.org's RSS tool will simply e-mail you updates to someone's RSS feed automatically without any effort. If you don't like what you recieve, simply unsubscribe!
Posted by: Daniel | March 4, 2006 12:01 PM
Firefox has dozens of "extensions" and "add-ons" that put it way ahead of IE in my mind. The RSS bookmark thing is a definitely a copycat. Firefox also can have a built-in RSS feed reader.
Posted by: Boyd Martin | March 5, 2006 02:38 AM
that was awesome. I noticed several times on my yahoo page that rss was available but had no idea what it was and for the most part thought it was a news page that I considered unnecessary since I already got the news on my yahoo page.
Posted by: sara west | March 7, 2006 04:31 AM
Derek,
Keep the hot tips coming. Just set mind up to the info I wanted and I'm liking it...alot.
Posted by: Doug Socha | March 8, 2006 11:50 AM
Great reading, keep up the great posts.
Peace, JiggaDigga
Posted by: JiggaDigga | April 7, 2006 10:23 AM