I remember when I used to manually visit Websites. I would open my web browser, click on bookmarks, and open the same sites throughout the day to see if there were any updates. It was maddening and time consuming. For those of us that use the Internet constantly this has become a thing of the past, but I realize that majority of you browsing the Web have not taken full advantage of automating your web browsing yet, which is why it’s today’s topic.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and to those participating in the blogosphere, it is incredibly important! Commonly referred to as a “feed”, an RSS document is used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries or podcasts from a Website. Therefore, if there are several websites that you frequent daily, it would behoove you to subscribe to their RSS feed and retrieve the site’s updated content in a more automated manner.

How do I Retrieve Feeds?

RSS Readers RSS feeds are generally viewed through RSS Readers. What is an RSS reader? It’s a plugin, application, or software that is designed specifically with the intent of enabling users to view RSS feeds. While you have several readers to choose from I would strongly recommend going with the one developed by the boys and girls over at Google. Google’s Reader is web-based (so you can access your reader from anywhere), it’s easy to organize, add, or delete feeds, and they have recently included a search box which made me very happy, but killed a little side project that I was working on.

Email Subscriptions Not a fan of adding another Internet application to your list? Then don’t. Chances are that you already have an email address, so enter your email address into the text box below and all posts will be delivered to your inbox by the time you sit down in front of your computer with your coffee each morning. This is certainly one of the easiest ways to subscribe to an RSS feed.

Enter your email address:

Who Should Use RSS feeds?

Everyone should. Who doesn’t want to save time? Subscribing to RSS feeds eliminates the need for you to frequently check your favorite websites. Let them come to you.

A Video Guide to RSS

You don’t have to take my word for it, there’s a video on Youtube that does a great job of explaining the importance of RSS.

Subscribe to my RSS Feed

Now that you know what RSS is, I encourage you to subscribe to my feed. Why should you subscribe?

Do you see the green box on the sidebar? I’ll be announcing the contest rules for the Nintendo Wii at the end of this week, and you’re probably having a hard time finding a Wii during the holiday shopping season. It’s sitting on my shelf in the office, but I don’t see why it can’t be sitting under your tree come Christmas day. This contest is now over.