Get Started With RSS
Over the past few weeks, I’ve shown several Renegade folks how to get themselves set up with an RSS Reader, so I thought I’d write a post about it. The following guide can serve as an RSS primer of sorts, and a way to get started using an RSS Reader (Google Reader).
RSS is a way for websites to broadcast content, to be harvested elsewhere. This content is called a feed, and usually consists of new content such as a news story or blog post. If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Wikipedia entry on RSS.
Most people use RSS within the context of an RSS Reader, which is used to help you keep track of dozens of frequently updated sites. The general idea is to subscribe to these feeds, collecting them in one place, eliminating the need to visit each site individually and read through it. There are several different RSS Readers out there, and this guide will help you get set up with Google Reader.
- First off, you’ll need a Google account. If you’re using GMail, you already have one. Visit google.com/reader and either sign in or sign up. Once you’re in, make a bookmark to this page.
- Next, subscribe to some sites. There are a few ways of doing this, and they differ from browser to browser (firefox does the best job). The most universal method is to use the “add subscription” button on your GR page, that lets you either search for or add the URL of a feed. Google does a nice job explaining this.
- After you’ve subscribed to some sites, just open your Google Reader page and rock. It’ll tell you which of your sites have new content on them, making for a faster reading experience.
RSS is a perfect example of how dynamic sites are changing the way we take in information. It standardizes the format within which content is delivered - which can separate the information from its original design/tone/context. It can also make for some very interesting ideas surrounding content portability and plasticity (and other fancy-pants web2.0 words). If you haven’t already started leveraging RSS, check it out, and let me know what you think.
December 27th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
[...] If you’re not using Google Reader yet, and you don’t read RSS feeds, you should! Here’s a write up I did last year on how to get started. Also, there’s no more big flash header on the site. Yep, killed it. Something else will [...]