What is RSS?

RSS - Really Simple Syndication

An RSS feed is essentially a live, regularly updated summary of the content on a Webpage. They’re widely used on news sites and blogs, like this one. Using Feed Reader software, you can automatically take RSS Feeds from any number of Websites and display them however you like.

For example, if you subscribe to a News RSS Feed, lets say “Headlines” from theage.com.au and displayed it on your Webpage, here is what you would get:

Fevola 'flashed mother'
Brisbane suspends AFL star indefinitely for alleged indecent exposure.
Strife and times of Brendan Fevola
Brendan Fevola, now 29 years old, has had trouble enough for a much longer life.
Plucked from the sea
Benedict Jor survived on coconuts and rainwater for three weeks before his tiny boat was spotted off the PNG coast.

You don’t have to display a Feed in a Webpage like this. You can use software to gather the RSS Feeds and display them on your computer. Some web browsers have a built in function that allows you to subscribe to a feed so you can read the latest content without having to visit the actual site.

This image below shows how to check and directly access my blog posts, using RSS and without visiting my Website:

Another way to read this blog is to visit the Ecreate Facebook Page. We used RSS to display our blog post on this Facebook page.

RSS is undeniably powerful. If you want to learn more, check out RSS on Wikipedia, or watch this video called RSS in Plain English.

Enjoy!