What is RSS ?
There is disagreement as to what RSS stands for but a common definition is "Really Simple Syndication". In essence it a standardised way of presenting information so it can be read in various ways by people who are interested in your content. RSS is often associated with "blogs" which are a series of comments on a topic by a company or individuals. They are called blogs simply because they appear in reverse chronological order (like a web server's log files) and these blogs can be and are made available using the RSS format.
If you ever come across this symbol
on
a web site it means that the site provides information in the RSS format. This
may be news about the company, general news, product information, technical
information - basically anything that may be of interest to people who visit the
site. The point of RSS is that, once the reader chooses to consume this feed of
information, they do not have to keep returning to the site to check for
updates.
Each item in a feed will contain a title, a short extract of the story and a hyperlink to the web page containing the full details. The hyperlink is the most important element for a publisher as it drives the user back to your web site where you can tempt them with further offerings.
For the RSS consumer it means they get the information they want without having to subscribe to lots of newsletters which arrive in your inbox along with all the other junk mail.
How do you read RSS ?
RSS feeds are traditionally read using RSS Readers or Aggregators. These are software packages that you download from the web and install on your PC. Once you install the reader you can select which RSS feeds you want to consume and how often you want it to check for updates. Some readers will then notify you discretely when a new topic appears in any of the feeds you have chosen to receive. Alternatively you open the reader periodically and new items will be highlighted.
Feeds can also be read using branded desktop alerts which create a stronger link between publisher and consumer. These alerts also allow the user to control the feed content according to your preference.
Firefox, the internet browser by Mozilla also reads RSS feeds (they call them "Live Bookmarks") and Microsoft are introducing the facility in Internet Explorer 7 which will be bundled with Vista, the operating system successor to Windows XP.
RSS Publishers
The term publisher suggests a traditionally provider of news but producing RSS is important to any company that wishes to convey information be it to customers, their own staff, suppliers, electorate etc. Here are a few examples of companies already using RSS to improve their businesses.
Estate agents - Inzo , Propertyfinder.com