What’s that funny orange icon anyways? RSS feeds are present on almost every website, including Tech Bottle’s. RSS is an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication.” In a nutshell, it is a method used to send new website content to people who subscribe to the feed. Usually it is used to syndicate new posts and articles but it can also syndicate new music and video. This post explains both the benefits of subscribing to RSS feeds and some very easy ways of subscribing. I hope you will consider subscribing to Tech Bottle. Our feed is located at http://tbottle.com/tb/feed.
Real Time Saver for Subscribers
Content Filtering. You can browse or search from within your RSS reader for new content that matches your interests and skip other content. This minimizes page loads and website searches.
Skip the Refresh Button. There is no need to refresh your favorite news sites because your subscriptions are delivered to your RSS reader.
Avoids SPAM Email. You will not clutter your inbox with unwanted content. Additionally, you do not provide your email address to websites when you subscribe to an RSS feed.
Global Inbox. You do not need to visit your favorite websites regularly to discover new content. You can subscribe to all of your favorite news sources, blogs and even twitter searches and new content will appear in your RSS reader. Some RSS readers have a global inbox for your subscriptions.
Mobile Devices. Most smartphone browsers include RSS readers and you can also download RSS reader apps. RSS reading is much faster than browsing the web, even at 3G speeds.
Subscribing to RSS Feeds – This is simpler than you might expect.
Browser-Based RSS Readers (Global Inbox)
Google, Yahoo, AOL and many other sites have RSS readers that you load like a website. They all work a little differently but I prefer Google’s reader at http://www.google.com/reader. I will include a cute video at the end of this post that explains the benefits of RSS reading and shows how to use Google Reader. Browser-based RSS readers are especially helpful if you use multiple computers. Your subscriptions are available from any browser.
Browsers with Built-In Readers
These too all work a little differently. Firefox and allows you to simply drag an RSS feed icon up to your bookmarks bar as a “live bookmark.” When you click a live bookmark, a list of headlines for the RSS feed will appear. In Internet Explorer, click an RSS icon to load the feed. You will be presented the choice of whether you want to subscribe and where you want the bookmark. Google’s Chrome does not have an RSS reader because Google promotes the web-based reader I mentioned above.
RSS Apps
Microsoft Office 2007 incorporates an RSS reader. There are many other programs you can download that are standalone RSS readers.
Mobile Devices
Most smartphone web browsers incorporate RSS readers. Usually you just click on the RSS icon to subscribe. On the Blackberry, the pre-installed browser and the BOLT browser I wrote about earlier today both read RSS. Another popular RSS reader on the Blackberry is Viigo.
Recommendation
If you want to save time and filter content, try out an RSS reader. You’ll be glad you did.
Subscribe to Tech Bottle at http://tbottle.com/tb/feed.
You might also enjoy:
[...] It’s RSS for dummies. You don’t need to know how to use an RSS reader. [...]
[...] Docs. Notwithstanding, Google has hit a home run with it’s Google Reader app. I’ve previously pitched RSS (Really Simple Syndication) readers generally. They allow you to aggregate your favorite websites into a global inbox. Your favorite websites [...]
[...] buzzers are reposting news articles and other material that comes to them by RSS via Google Reader. The integration among many different Google properties is truly amazing. In addition to Google [...]
[...] Buzz. It’s baked into Gmail which many millions of people use daily. Google’s popular RSS reader also draws people into Google Buzz through prominent links in Reader. Google made apps for phones [...]