What are RSS feeds and how can feeds help you?

RSS feeds are used by many Internet users on a day-to-day basis, and yet most of us don’t know what they are. RSS (Really Simple Syndication/Rich Site Summary) feeds are web feeds written in a portable markup language called XML that are used to publish frequently updated works, such as blog posts and news feeds. A standardized XML file format allows information to be published online and viewed by many different programs, and this language is a generic specification for creating data formats. RSS formats are used by many website content management systems, so a webmaster does not have to do any manual work or coding. A perfect example of this is using WordPress.

An RSS document, commonly known as a feed, web feed, or channel, includes full or summarized text, along with metadata such as publication and authorship dates. These feeds are read by using an RSS reader, feed reader or aggregator, which have been specifically developed for reading RSS feeds. RSS readers can be web-based, desktop, or mobile-based. To use these feeds, a person must subscribe by entering the feed’s URI/URL in the reader or by clicking the RSS icon. The reader will then check for updates to users’ subscribed feeds regularly and provides a user interface to monitor and read the feeds.

There are several different versions of RSS, but these fall into the two main categories of RDF (or RSS1) or RSS2.*. Extension mechanisms allow each branch to track innovations in the other. For example, RSS2.* was the first to support cabinets, used in podcast technology. However, an extension to the cabinet means that RDF can also provide this feature to users.

RSS feeds are good for a variety of different reasons. The main advantage is that other websites can display content that will update automatically. The advantage for the website producing the feed is that they get free links from other websites or web directories. The main benefit for readers is that they receive constant updates from their chosen sites, all in one place. Several bittorrent-based peer-to-peer file-sharing websites also use RSS feeds. These feeds allow users to download files automatically from the moment the feeder detects them. This process is often called transmission.

RSS feeds are a great example of how far Internet technology has come today. By allowing people to receive updates at a rapid pace and in one place, these feeds not only save the user time, but allow vast amounts of information to spread across the Internet like never before. Although the technological information behind RSS feeds can be difficult to understand, they are easy to use and increasingly useful. RSS feeds are good for both their users and the sites that provide the content, and are a sign of how the Internet has developed and where it might go in the future.

I urge you to use these great tools to improve your own experience as a surfer or webmaster.