- What is RSS?
- What sites use RSS?
- How can I start using RSS?
- What is the relationship between RSS and podcasts?
What is RSS?
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It's a way for you to keep track of your favourite sites in one place by subscribing to their RSS feeds. For a more technical description see the Wikipedia page about RSS.
What sites use RSS?
Lots of sites already have feeds and there are more starting to use it every day. Some sites include:
Some databases let you use feeds to keep track of the latest papers being published in your discipline, including:
One of the easiest ways to check if a page has any feeds is to look for an RSS link or icon. Here are some of the more popular icons:
If you're not sure Ask a Librarian!
How can I start using RSS?
If you use either Firefox or Internet Explorer 7 Web browsers you can start subscribing to feeds right away. Just look for the orange icon in your address bar. If you use Safari the RSS icon is blue.
If you don't have Firefox or Internet Explorer 7 you can use a Web-based reader (sometimes called an aggregator) like Google Reader or Bloglines. The advantage of using a Web-based reader is that you can access your feeds from any computer with an Internet connection.
What is the relationship between RSS and podcasts?
Most feeds contain links to Web pages. If the links are to audio files such as mp3s the feed is called a podcast. If you want to subscribe to a podcast you're better off using something like iTunes over a generic feed aggregator.
