RSS Feeds - what are they? Part 1

The Tsetse Files is one of many thousands or millions of websites which has an ‘RSS’ or news feed. These feeds are a new way for you to find out if your favourite websites have been updated without having to visit the site itself.

You can tell if a website or weblog has a news feed if one of the following logos is displayed somewhere on the front page. Most likely it will be …




… although this is common …





… as is this, but less so …



… or simply the letters ‘RSS’ are displayed prominently somewhere.

To read any of these feeds you must have a ‘feed reader’. The most popular forms are a website in which you list all of feeds which means that you can see all of the updates in one place, or a piece of software which you may have to pay for that works not unlike email software which opens from your computer desktop. It’s also possible to have the updates emailed to you although be warned that since some feeds can have many updates during the day, your inbox will fill up very quickly! Here are some examples of each:

Web:

Bloglines
Google Reader
Microsoft Live
My Yahoo!
News Is Free
Feedzilla
News Gator

Windows:

NewzCrawler
Feedreader
Feed Demon
Awasu
Amphetadesk


Mac:

NewsFire
NetNewsWire

Many more can be found listed at this Wikipedia entry. Certainly some are better than others, so it is best to experiment to see which you’re most comfortable using. It’s worth noting too that some web browsers such as Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox have feed readers built in.


Don't forget to come back tomorrow for part 2!