What is RSS? Really Simple Syndication Explained

From Wikipedia:

RSS (most commonly translated as “Really Simple Syndication” but sometimes “Rich Site Summary”) is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a “feed”, “web feed”, or “channel”) includes full or summarized text, plus metadata such as publishing dates and authorship. Web feeds benefit publishers by letting them syndicate content automatically. They benefit readers who want to subscribe to timely updates from favored websites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place. RSS feeds can be read using software called an “RSS reader”, “feed reader”, or “aggregator”, which can be web-based, desktop-based, or mobile-device-based…The user subscribes to a feed by entering into the reader the feed’s URI or by clicking an RSS icon in a web browser that initiates the subscription process. The RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new work, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.

Confused Yet?! RSS in English

What if there was a way that you could automatically be notified on new articles on your favorite blogs? RSS is your answer.

RSS is a technology that allows you to digest information on the web much easier and more efficiently. Have a couple of blogs that you want to keep tabs on but don’t want to visit multiple sites a day? By subscribing to the RSS feed (normally labeled with a typical RSS icon) in a reader like Google Reader (if you have a Gmail account…you already have Google Reader), you can stay on top of the latest articles all in one place which makes your life much easier on the web.

Think of subscribing to the RSS much like a magazine subscription. Each month, you get used to a new issue hitting your mailbox around a certain time. With RSS, those new articles are delivered to your feed reader or email inbox to keep you updated with the information you want to read.

Two Options On RSS

Feed Reader – You can subscribe to RobbSutton.com and other blogs through a feed reader – like Google Reader which I use on a daily basis – and have all of your feeds aggregated on one one web page. Most blogs these days, allow you to read their entire articles in the feed reader, but you may run into some that only offer excerpts.

Subscribe to RobbSutton.com in your feed reader by clicking here.

Email – You can also subscribe to the RSS via email and have new blog articles delivered straight to your email inbox. Each morning there is a new blog article, all you have to do is check your email as you would normally, and you will find complete articles there ready for you to read!

Subscribe to RobbSutton.com by email by clicking here.