Originally invented by Netscape and picked up by Userland Software, RSS (“Really Simple Syndication”) has now been around for the best part of 10 years and in my opinion, is now only really making huge inroads into the mindset of content providers.  This of course means that it will not be long before we all wonder what we ever did without RSS. 

RSS is essentially the technology behind pulling information from places on the internet that have news content, blog entries, podcasts and other information. 

An RSS document (AKA feed, web feed or channel) is the information that can be viewed e.g. the latest news headline.  This sometimes has some extra content visible when clicked upon, or hovered over. 

And finally to complete the jigsaw, we need to read the RSS document using what is known as a “RSS reader”.  This reader is also known as a “feed reader” or the more fashionable of late, aggregator. 

Now, just when you thought it was safe to go out, there’s more!  Don’t worry, it is straight forward.One needs to subscribe to a feed.  Now this doesn’t mean one has to hand over bank account details, date of birth and vital measurements!  It just means one has to let the RSS reader know what content needs to be pulled when new content becomes available. 

Its just like adding a website as a favourite, but instead, one adds (subscribes) it to the RSS reader. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed’s link into the reader or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process. The reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloading any updates that it finds. 

It might sound painful, but give it a try (it’s the best way to learn) with some of the common aggregator’s out there e.g. Netvibes etc.