Intro to RSS and News Feeds

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Time to sound really cool? Start using RSS and XML and News Feed in your conversations!

RSS is short for “Really Simple Syndication” or “Rich Site Summary” or "RDF Site Summary" (depending on who you read) Basically, it's a simple form of a Web page or blog that can be “subscribed” via an XML data stream. This stream will let you know when there's new material added to the site. So, now you need a way to keep up with all those streams. In comes the RSS Aggregator or NewsFeed Reader!

NOTE: Some newer blogs use the Atom format so, check out your favorite resources to see if you need to get a reader that can handle RSS and Atom formats.

Aggregate Me!

These aggregators can be plug-ins for your Web browser or email program, standalone programs, or Web-based services. Whatevery option you choose, RSS aggregators remember your subscriptions, check each site on a periodic basis, and let you know about any new items on the sites.

Plug-Ins

You can add RSS capabilities into your Web browser or run Firefox, which has RSS support built into it. Popular offerings are:

NewsGator (http://www.newsgator.com/outlook.aspx), which plugs into into Microsoft Outlook on Windows,
Pluck (http://www.pluck.com) which grafts into Microsoft Internet Explorer on Windows (there is also a web based version of Pluck for any OS and browser)
Safari Menu and RSS Menu(http://e-dotstudios.com) An add-on for Apple's Safari browser

Stand-Alone Programs

Windows:

BlogExpress (http://www.usablelabs.com/productBlogExpress.html) Donationware
FeedReader (http://www.feedreader.com) Free

Macintosh:

NetNewsWire (http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/) $40
NewsFire (http://www.newsfirerss.com/) $18

Both Platforms:

AmphetaDesk (http://www.disobey.com/amphetadesk/) Free/ kind of a hybrid as it requires a download but then uses your default web browser for displaying pages

Web Based RSS Services

If you don’t want to mess with your browser or have another program running, or use multiple computers during the day, you might want to subscribe to an Web service that allows you to pick your own RSS feeds and gives you a custom web page to view/read the feeds.

My Yahoo! Provides some basic RSS feed services.
Others include:
Bloglines (http://www.bloglines.com)
Feedster (http://www.feedster.com)

NewsGator Online (http://www.newsgator.com)

Try some of these out and find what works best for you. I bet you'll find that every time you go to a Web site that you like, you'll immediately start looking for the little orange "rss" or "xml" button or a link. It’s dangerously addictive fun!!

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This page last updated: Februrary 2005