What is RSS? Taking a guess here …

If you are reading this, you either don’t know or you need copy for your own “What is RSS” page (that’s how we did it).

The short version
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” It’s a way to get new content from blogs and websites to news aggregators.

The longer, English version
A “news aggregator” is a feed reader. It’s a piece of software you either use online, or load on your computer or mobile device. It goes out on the Web and looks for updates to the blog and site “feeds” you’ve subscribed to. By subscribing, you can keep up with subjects of interest in one, convenient location – your news reader / feed reader / news aggregator.

A “feed” is a file that contains new blog posts or site content. For some feeds it’s the full post. For others, it’s just a paragraph or two (rumour has it that most are moving toward full feeds).

If you view a feed file in your browser it looks pretty nasty, but not to your news reader. Just copy and paste the feed URL into your reader, make a few selections, and you’ve subscribed to that feed.

Most blogs (like BoDo) have an orange feed icon to click. The bigger the icon, the more important it is to subscribe to that feed.

Kidding.

For more on RSS, read Yaro Starak’s What is RSS and How Do I Use It? or CopyBlogger’s What the Heck is RSS?

If you are still undecided and would like a wider range of feed readers to pick from, News Aggregators has an extensive list. You should be able to find one that’s just right for you.