Thursday, October 12, 2006

What is RSS?

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is a way to subscribe to frequently updated websites like blogs or news. Next time you're reading a website look for a little orange icon or chicklet that says RSS. When you click on it, you can subscribe to the RSS feeds, meaning you receive articles when the websites update in your news aggregator or reader. The NET's favorite RSS aggregator is Bloglines. All webased, there is no downloading, and you have access to your reader whereever you are, whether it be work or home. It works best with Firefox web browser where you can plant a button right on the browser making subscribing to your favorite feeds a snap.

The beauty of RSS feeds is that you only have to subscribe to things that interest you. The aggregator does all the sorting for you. For example, if you only really read local news in your morning paper, only subscribe to local news. This way you no longer have to shift through world news or sports, you just receive what you like. Best of all, it doesn't clog up your e-mail and lets you skim things easily.

Click here or the orange chicklet on the blog to subscribe to the NET's RSS feed.

For those of you who are a bit overwhelmed by all this technology, you can easily subscribe to the NET's blog via e-mail here. Just plop your e-mail in the subscription box on the blog.

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