Maybe you've heard the term RSS somewhere. You’ve probably even noticed this or this on different websites. RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and basically means that you are subscribing to a website to find out when there is new information. Those symbols above are what tells you if a site has an RSS feed. You can subscribe to blogs, websites, news, and more.
Before you can subscribe to feeds, though, you need to subscribe to an aggregator or feed reader which gathers all your feeds up for you in one spot. It works like Tivo in that you tell the feed reader what you are interested in reading and it keeps track of when there is new stuff and then pulls it all to one spot so you can read it. There are many to choose from, but the most popular feed readers are Bloglines, Google Reader, and MyYahoo.
To better understand what RSS is, watch this video from Common Craft called "RSS in Plain English."
Now that you better understand what RSS is, it's time to put it into action. First you will need to set-up an account for an aggregator. For this exercise, go to Bloglines. Click on Sign Up Now and follow the steps.
Now it is time to find something to put on your Bloglines account. You can do this several ways: a) you can click on the grey Search tab on the Bloglines page [upper left corner] and type in a topic you are interested in (eg. books, crocheting, monster trucks, etc). Make sure you are searching for feeds and not posts, and find some cool blogs. OR b) You can click on the grey tab called Feeds and then click on "add" on the Bloglines page. Then you will need to enter a URL. Look for this or this on a page and then copy and paste the URL of the site into the Bloglines account. Or just try putting in the URL or site address and if there are feeds available, Bloglines will find them for you. Find a minimum of 5 feeds to put on your account (you can even add your own blog!).
So now you have something to read. What next? Check into your Bloglines account to read new posts and see what is going on. After 5-7 days, write a post on your blog telling what new and interesting things you have found out about or maybe recommend a great blog you found to us. You can also tell us:
What do you like about RSS and feed readers?
How could this be used at the library or at your home?
If you are already addicted to feed readers, tell us why and how you got hooked.
Want to try even more? (optional)
If you want to learn even more about RSS, check out Debbie W.'s comprehensive powerpoint. then let us know what you think on your blog! To view Debbie's presentation in full size, click the link below that says "View." You'll be taken to the Slideshare.net home page, where you have the option to view a full screen version.
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