What is Really Simple Syndication (RSS): aka: Rich Site Summary?
Many people are not sure what this term means, even though it’s something that they see almost every day in today’s world of Web 2.0 Internet language and news content. Social networking and internet media outlets continue to grow at an exponential rate, and the ability to receive instant news/content has evolved past the days where you would need to ‘Bookmark’ your favorite sites, then visit them on a regular basis to see what was new. Today, we live in a world where information is compiled, and distributed over the Internet in a fashion that allows people to aggregate their news in one place, on their computer screen.
RSS has transformed the use of the Internet, and news/content aggregators are able to produce information within their own web sites for distribution to viewers. Since we have become a society that turns to authority sources on the Internet, here is the information provided about RSS directly from one of Americas favorite sources, Wikipedia.
RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines, and podcasts in a standardized format. An RSS document (which is called a “feed,” “web feed,” or “channel”) contains either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with web sites in an automated manner that can be piped into special programs or filtered displays.
The benefit of RSS is the aggregation of content from multiple web sources in one place. RSS content can be read using software called an “RSS reader,” “feed reader,” or an “aggregator”, which can be web-based or desktop-based. A standardized XML file format allows the information to be published once and viewed by many different programs. 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 RSS reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for new content, downloads any updates that it finds, and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.
The initials “RSS” are generally used to refer to the following formats:
- Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0)
- RDF Site Summary (RSS 1.0 and RSS 0.90)
- Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91).
RSS formats are specified using XML, a generic specification for the creation of data formats. Although RSS formats have evolved since March 1999, the RSS icon (”
“) first gained widespread use in 2005–2006.
The name Atom applies to a pair of related standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol (short AtomPub or APP) is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web resources. Web feeds allow software programs to check for updates published on a web site. To provide a web feed, a site owner may use specialized software (such as a content management system) that publishes a list (or “feed”) of recent articles or content in a standardized, machine-readable format. The feed can then be downloaded by web sites that syndicate content from the feed, or by feed reader programs that allow Internet users to subscribe to feeds and view their content. A feed contains entries, which may be headlines, full-text articles, excerpts, summaries, and/or links to content on a web site, along with various metadata.
What Does All This Mean Regarding RSS and Me?
Without really knowing what nuts and bolts, the bottom line is that web content can be delivered directly to you in one source, so you no longer need to bookmark a lot of sites, nor do you have to search via engines to find the information you want. When you find a content provider you like, you may subscribe to ther feed, and go directly to a reader to receive the information on your computer screen.
There are a wide range of web-based readers currently available, and we choose the Google Reader as our favorite. You’re welcome to search and explore available readers, and once you choose one you will be able to experience the brilliance of RSS content delivery. The benefits include a web-based content delivery set up in a similar fashion to what you might see in your email box. After you have subscribed to a feed, you will see a list of your subscriptions. They will be organizes with the headline, and a short description of the related story in the expanded view. You may also choose a list view, which may only display the headline of the content you have subscribed to. RSS formats allow you to subscribe to a list of syndicated content providing the headlines and summaries of info you want to see, then you may select which links to click on and read. Generally speaking, once you click on a link you will open a new tab or window which will display the site hosting the content.
How Do I subscribe to RSS Feeds?
There are numerous ways to subscribe to content. Most of the time you will either click on an RSS/XML feed icon (tend to be orange in color, although there are many other formats out there), or within the browser URL window at the top of your page (to the right of where you plug in the http:// or www. information.) If you don’t see an icon on a page, take a look at the HTTP user agent information in the web browser (don’t get frustrated, all we’re saying here is take a look at the stuff at the top where you put in the http://www.domainname.com, or the www stuff). To the right of the domain name, you should see a few icons if the site you are using hosts a feed. For example, our Online Degree Enlightenment Blog does have a feed, and you will see these small icons in most browsers (Internet Explorer may not show one).
Below you will find screen shots of three browser types using our feed:
Mozilla Firefox 3.0 Screenshot
Opera Web Browser Screenshot
Safari Web Browser Screenshot
All of these browsers support the RSS feed format, either by the traditional icon (), or by the RSS label. Once you decide which method you would like to use, you may begin working with your reader and exploring the world of RSS. I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the ease and functionality of the technology.
We Thinks These Three Sites Are Worth Reading Regarding RSS, and What it is.
If you have any questions about any of the information we have provided, or using RSS, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Loading ...
