Really Simple Syndication Is Really That Simple

It seems as though people are always looking for shortcuts, hoping to find a simpler way to do something.  That is exactly what RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, does for people.  Since their creation in March 1999 by Netscape, RSS feeds have quickly developed into yet another useful online tool. 

RSS is a family of web feed formats which deliver regularly changing web content.  Web feeds help publishers by allowing them to syndicate their content automatically.  They also thus benefit the reader by allowing people to stay readily updated on their sites of interest. As a result, you do not have to sit on the computer clicking from site to site, as all of the content you desire comes up on the RSS feed. 

RSS Feeds are often used by news sites, blogs, and other publishers to keep their readers up to date on information from their site.  Another benefit of RSS is that it can also be read using a mobile device as long as it has an RSS reader, allowing updates to be sent even to a person's pocket, and adding another useful shortcut to the lives of all people. 

According to Connor Scallaet, Contributing Editor and Site Engineer of T3ch H3lp, RSS feeds are useful for many people.  "If I like to visit 7 websites daily for my news, an RSS feed takes all seven websites and posts all of their articles, incuding rich metadata, in one place for me, and may provide a more dynamic interface for reading news other then sites.  Examples of this are Flipboard on iPad and Pulse on iOS."

Though many people are not consciously aware of the work an RSS feed does, they are commonly used by many people and make checking favorite websites much easier.  Scallaet says, "So it solves the problem of checking lots of websites and it keeps you updated by taking loads of feeds and putting them into one place." 

When Netscape created RSS feeds, they did so because they "wanted to use an XML  Extensible Markup Language [XML] format to distribute news, stories and information."  This was successfully done, and RSS feeds have become a staple in the lives of many.

Looking for more information on RSS feeds? Check out "Syndicating Web Sites with RSS Feeds For Dummies," by Ellen Finkelstein and Chris Pirillo.