GWSC | How do I subscribe to an RSS Feed?

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How do I subscribe to an RSS Feed?

RSS feeds are a way of keeping up-to-date with websites, including this one.

What is RSS?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication." It is a system that allows users to subscribe to websites and receive notifications when those websites are updated.

This means that the user no longer needs to check the website every day to see if it has updated.

Subscribing

Even though it is called "subscription," RSS is (generally) free. It is necessary, however, to have software set up to receive RSS "feeds."

This software typically allows the user to interact with feeds in a manner similar to email software, with a listing of feeds indicating which articles in a feed have and have not been read.

In Internet Explorer, a webpage that offers an RSS Feed is indicated by the RSS symbol (framed here in blue) turning orange.

In Firefox, an RSS symbol appears in the URL bar (framed here in blue) when a feed is available.

The website itself may display an RSS symbol that the user can click on to begin subscribing, or use to obtain a feed URL that will be required to subscribe.

There are essentially three different types of software that will allow a user to receive RSS feeds.

Stand-alone Readers

Stand-alone readers are single-purpose applications that allow users to subscribe to and receive RSS feeds.

The user downloads a set-up file from a trusted source, installs the application to their computer, and sets up subscriptions to feeds of their choice (stand-alone readers usually come with their own list of suggested feeds).

Feedreader is a simple but effective stand-alone aggregator, and Microsoft Outlook 2007 comes with a reader built in, integrating the user's RSS feeds alongside their email.

Browser plugins

Most modern browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc) either come with a built-in feedreader, or else feedreader plug-ins are readily available for free download.

For example, a quite good plug-in for Firefox is Brief. It allows the user to subscribe to an RSS feed by clicking on the RSS icon in the URL Location Bar and then saving the "Live Bookmark" to Brief's specified bookmark folder.

Both IE and Firefox support these "live bookmarks," and simply bookmarking/favoriting live bookmarks will provide a rudimentary RSS Feed reader without the need for plug-ins. They do not, however, indicate whether an article has been read or not.

Online feedreaders

The main advantage of an online feedreader ("aggregator") is that it is accessible from anywhere, rather than being tied down to one computer.

Google provides a reader which is roughly similar in form and function to its online email service. If a user already has a Google account (Gmail, iGoogle, etc), they can immediately begin setting up a Google Reader service.

Please note the GWSC does not endorse any software mentioned in this article, nor is the College affiliated in any way with the companies or products suggested