Have you encountered this symbol? If you read blogs, or visit websites, I am sure you have. RSS represents REAL SIMPLE SYNDICATION or Rich Site Summary (they both mean the same thing), which is a way for you, if you have an interest, to get new information, news, and anything else regarding that topic without having to surf through pages and pages on the Internet.

An RSS page is generated in XML which you are not able to see, but can be seen by the RSS Readers or Aggregators.

How Does RSS Work and What are RSS Feeds? When you find a blog that you like, or a website they provide a news feed where you are able to gather info on a regular basis sent directly to your ‘News Reader‘. This is totally free for you and will be displayed right in your web browser, desktop, or homepage.

Have you seen the stock tickers which are giving you information in real time, allowing you to see what the stocks are doing without having to go to the website for the information, this is how the RSS feeds work, delivering the info right into your computer as it occurs.

-Do You Need Real Syndication System? Well, let’s look at the advantages of an RSS Feeds and then you get to decide if you need it or not.
- This saves your email inbox from getting unlimited newsletters,
- You never need to go and get the information,
-It is being sent to you without taking up too much valuable email storage space.

How much easier and hassle-free it is for you to have the newspaper delivered right in front of your doorstep vis-a-vis going to the store each and every morning to get it. This is virtually a similar thing, you are having the news or info you like and delivered to you instead of you going out to find it.

An Example:

Let’s say you want to get as much information on viral marketing as that is what you are focusing on at the moment, you will take some time, search out some websites, and when you find something you like and want to stay up on, you simply click on the RSS, and this information will be delivered to you as it comes available. The other best way would be to bookmark the page you liked, then go to it every single day to see if there is anything new you would be interested in. You will have to wade through all the unwanted information to find what you are looking for. Look how much time and energy you save when you use the RSS Feed option.

How Will RSS Work For You? There are several ways this may work for you, there is no single answer. I am going to give you a simple answer allowing you to get RSS Feeds the easiest way possible. Remember however, this is not your only option, just a simple one.

The easiest way is to have it sent to your homepage of your browser.

For instance, I used Google‘s hoempage and I have RSS feeds sent to me directly through my homepage that I have signed up for that specific category.

Because I am a writer, I have a page dedicated to writing helps, topics, articles, and I have all of these sent to that home page via RSS. Now, if you already have an RSS newsreader or an aggregator, you can have it sent in there as well. I actually use both. I have my Google Reader where I have RSS Feeds sent to that I don’t read on a regular basis. The most crucial or vital information is sent to my homepage.

If you want to know whether you have a newsreader or not, I would suggest that you do have. If you have Yahoo, MSN, Google or Hotmail, you have a reader. Let me assist you set up one…We will use MSN as our example.

1. Proceed to my.Msn.com and log in. If you don’t have an account on one of these browsers I have mentioned, set up an account now. You may do this with Yahoo, Google, or MSN in a matter of seconds.
2. Once you have signed in,you will see information such as weather, news, sports, stocks, local information and ads. This is your selection area, you may remove, or add things around, make sure it suits your personal needs and likes. It is simple to move them, just click and drag from the top right of the subject area, moving them, using the minus (-) symbol in the top left area. If you are able to delete it by accident, don’t fret, as you can add them back at any point in time.
3. Now in the top left portion of the screen you will see ‘Welcome’. You are going to add this content below your name, with four choices (Tabs) to assist you. The ‘Search’ Tab is the default tab, and from that point you will see your four choices. If you know the web address (URL) for a sites newsfeed, enter it there. The three tabs remaining let you browse by subjects and names of companies. You just click on the box that you specifically want.
4. In Yahoo, you will see that there are already some news feeds available listed as ‘Top Stories’ from Reuters and their various categories. You will notice a big yellow box in the center above these stories giving you clear instructions on how to”Add Content”.
5. Next you will click on the “Add Content” link bringing up a search box which allows you to “search content” about your subject or topic.
6. Type in your search phrase, search, and you will be presented an array o results. When you notice something you like, click ‘Add’ then it will be placed on your reader. After you made your choice, click ‘Finished’up on the right hand side of the page.

Now you have added RSS Newsfeeds to your MSN or Yahoo homepage.

As you scroll down your “My Yahoo” page, you will see the headlines you have just added. You can then rearrange them in the chronological order that you prefer. If you decide you don’t want a particular fee any longer, then simply delete it.

How To Customize Your Own RSS? You may know of a particular RSS feed you would like and do not have to literally rummage to find it. This is very easy to do. On almost all pages you will notice a small orange box that says XML, News Feeds or RSS Feeds. Then, you click on that button, and a set of instructions will come up on that same page. You will be given an option to choose that Feed to appear in your Aggregator or your homepage. There are some that allow you copy and paste the “news feed URL” and paste it into your news reader.

Don’t be anxious about the code, you are just looking at the ‘Feed Code’ which is the specific URL of the news feed.

This is such a great and convenient way to get the news updated and on a regular basis. My all time favorits is the Google Reader, it is very easy to use and navigate.

Below are the Top 7 RSS Readers in order

1. RssReader
2. SharpReader
3. Pluck RSS Reader
4. NewsGator
5. FeedDemon
6. FeedBucket
7. NetNewsWire (Mac OS-X only)

Here are the Top 7 Web RSS Feeds/Aggregators (these require a personal account)

1. Google
2. My.Yahoo
3. Newsgator Online Now
4. Feedster
5. Bloglines
6. My.MSN
7. My.AOL

Colin Klinkert is a full time internet marketer making high six figures a year online. He runs many membership sites, one of which makes over a million a year in revenue.

Colin also writes on his personal site about Internet Marketing Techniques, methods, and news. Read more about Rss Feeds How To.

Related  RSS articles

• KISD RSS Intro (slideshare.net)
• The Top Three RSS Readers for PC Users (maketecheasier.com)
• Google Reader Officially Supports NewsGator, NewsGator Dumps Online Version (techie-buzz.com)