What is RSS?

Have you ever subscribed to an electronic news letter in order to keep up with the latest information or news? Have you ever subscribed to an electronic news letter then try to unsubscribe?  Or have you ever received a newsletter in your email that you didn't request?  (Much like "spam".)  What about trying to send a newsletter only to find that you need to input all those email addresses by hand and of course, you missed a couple?

Well, the latest thing hitting cyberspace is RSS. (Maybe it is the latest thing if you're hearing about this technology for the very first time.) According to Webopedia, RSS stands for Rich Site Summary (for RSS 0.91, RSS 0.92 and RSS 2.0).  You may come across the definition of RSS as RDF Site Summary where RDF means Resource Description Framework (in references to RSS 0.9 and RSS 1.0).  While  according to the "Technology at Harvard Law" website, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (referring to RSS 2.0 or higher). Which ever definition you prefer, I like Really Simple Syndication, it's very popular with news websites these days. That's enough techno-babble for now.

Well, what it is?

For the techies:
A web page that you view is coded in a programming language such as HTML, JavaScript, PHP, ASP or any other number of languages. Now with RSS (derived from XML), the same web page can have an alternate coding of itself.

More on this "coding thing" in a bit.

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For the non-techies:
To be able to use the RSS "feed" (or code) from your favorite website(s), you'll need a NewsReader (a.k.a.: News Aggregator). What these newsreaders allow you to do is aggregate (or collect) "news feeds" - (the URLs from that little orange button at the bottom of the web page) - meaning the RSS files from the various news websites that utilize this technology. Copy and Paste the URL (of the "feed") into one centralized environment similar to a browser. Using a newsreader to collect the sort of news that's important to you, makes searching for information or news that much faster by eliminating the process of having to go to every single website and look for updates. A newsreader then becomes your centralized source for information and the environment is very similar to a browser. 

What can it do for me?

So, if I want to look up the news on the BBC and then check out what the New York Times website says and then read a column in the USA Today website, this could take me all morning.  Instead, I use an aggregator.  I collect all the RSS feeds and place them in my aggregator.  Whenever BBC, New York Times and USA Today update their websites, I get the updates in one location so I can view them all and select what it is that I wish to read first.

Because this has become popular with the news, more and more of us are now using RSS as a way of making announcements; posting discussion topics; sports scores; political views; as available resources; for 'blogging'; replacing the electronic newsletter; of course, the news, and much more. Click here for a list of FREE aggregators as well as additional information.

You now have the choice on whether you want to be kept informed on the latest developments or choose not to by simply deleting the RSS within your aggregator.  Gone are the days of reading a plain and boring electronic newsletter.  

If you have your own website, coding the XML/RSS is not as difficult as you think. If you use the FireFox browser, there is a feature that allows you to create a "feed". Now whenever you update your website, tweak the "feed", anyone with a reader who has subscribed to your website, will get updated. Great if your an instructor and your students have these readers because you can post assignments, deadlines, test schedules, special assouncements, etc., etc., etc.

Now more on that "coding thing".

The web page that displays an icon such as or  tag, usually at the bottom of the web page, once clicked on, will open up to reveal its coding. This may spook many of you but don't worry. What you're looking for is the file name at the top of the page - the URL to be exact. Highlight and copy this address. Go to your newsreader and add it to your directory. Now whenever your favorite website updates its information, you can read the highlights in your newsreader - or if you feel you need to visit the website simply click and view it within the aggregator. This is a feature I've added to my own website at SUNY Plattsburgh for my students. Because the newsreader is a centralized environment, much like a browser, you can view multiple headlines from a multitude of sources at the same time.

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Currently, more than just news websites are using RSS. "Bloggers" are using this to aggregate responses to their postings; many were even posting exit poll results during the Presidential Elections; many have become their own "journalists" (I use this term lightly as to not offend any true journalists reading this); others are using RSS as a publishing tool - for example, you may release the latest chapter of a story you're currently working on in which you may welcome some feedback. While still others, may simply publish their latest "blog" gossip.

For those of you who already have your own websites, it is possible to embed a "feed" directly into your web page so your readers can instantly see the latest developments.  Here's an example of what you can also do with embedded "feeds". (See the headlines in the right-hand column?)

There are many free aggregators available online, but there are also many others that will charge you. The difference, I'm guessing is that with the free ones, you'll get ADV listings (ADVertisements), whereas the ones you pay for eliminate the clutter.

So if newsletters were once used to keep subscribers afloat on what's new in their world, then this new technology of RSS and NewsReaders may end up just eliminating the newsletter altogether.  Now, anyone across the globe who has an aggregator can know what you've been working on and be updated to the latest news.

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