Ryan Sholin

Feeds Simplified

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Ryan Sholin
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Hey Mom – Here’s a good explanation of RSS feeds and how to use them from Yahoo:

What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an XML-based format for distributing and aggregating Web content (such as news headlines).

Using RSS, Web content providers can easily create and disseminate feeds of data that include, for example, news links, headlines, and summaries. Other sites using RSS to deliver content to a wider audience include Christian Science Monitor and CNET News.com.

How can I use RSS?
Typical applications for consuming or using RSS include:

* Using a program known as a News Aggregator to collect, update and display RSS feeds
* Incorporating RSS feeds into weblogs

News Aggregators (also called news readers) will download and display RSS feeds for you. A number of free and commercial News Aggregators are available for download. Popular news readers include AmphetaDesk, NetNewsWire, and Radio Userland.

Many aggregators are separate, “stand-alone” programs such as those listed above; other services will let you add RSS feeds to a Web page. Yahoo! lets you add RSS feeds to your My Yahoo! page; to make this easier, you can click on the “Add to My Yahoo!” button to the right of each link above.

Another way many people use RSS feeds is by incorporating content into weblogs, or “blogs”. Blogs are web pages comprised of usually short, frequently updated items and web links. Blogging as a publishing tool is used for many purposes: traditional journalism, personal journals, group discussions around a topic, and many combinations in-between.

Any questions?