These days, most internet users access their favorite content via personalized social media sites. But, before everyone had a social media account, they had RSS readers. But what is an RSS feed, and are they still in used today? Everyone has their favorite way to stay current on the constant flow of data called the Internet. But back in the day, keeping track of your favorite content was a real chore. It involved manually searching through blogs and news articles. Short for Really Simple Syndication (at least now - more on that later), RSS was invented as a way to subscribe to a source of information, such as a Web site, and get content delivered to you. By subscribing, users get a feed - often a series of headlines and brief summaries - of all the articles published on that particular Web page. This lets them scan the articles on the page more efficiently.

Sometimes they'd even spot more headlines that might never have seen buried on the original page. Don't feel badly if you haven't heard of RSS - you may have already come into contact with it without knowing its name. Some Web-browsing software automatically detects RSS feeds. Firefox and Opera display the now-common square orange badge for a Web feed in the browser's address bar when they find RSS feeds on a site. You'll see a similar symbol in Internet Explorer's toolbar. Safari shows a blue rectangle with "RSS" written in white letters. Those emblems show the presence of active RSS feeds on a site to help you get started. Click on one, though, and you'll get a list of options which may seem a little intimidating if you don't know what they mean. The Name's Been Changed. Please Make a Note Of It. The original version of RSS, created by UserLand in 1997, stands for RDF Site Summary or Rich Site Summary.

Netscape Communications used the technology to deliver content to users of its MyNetscape portal. In 2003, the name changed to Really Simple Syndication with the release of the RSS 2.0 standard when a new team began work on it. Reading RSS feeds can be a great time-saver. In the time it takes you to scan whole Web pages for information, you can find and upload your desired RSS feed URL and get headlines from dozens of sites all collected in one RSS reader app. On the other hand, the ease with which you can view RSS headlines may convince you that you can subscribe to even more sites. You may end up spending just as much time reading feeds as you used to on regular Web sites. Reading feeds requires a few simple things, many of which you already have. You'll need a computer - or compatible electronic device - and an Internet connection.

After that, you need something that can read, or aggregate, RSS files. By setting up and RSS feed reader, you can collect and interpret RSS feeds in one location. That way, you can see the latest headlines from HowStuffWorks, CNN, the BBC and Reuters, all in one place. Or do you just want the headlines? Do you want everything organized by date, with the feeds mixed by most recent, or would you prefer to keep each site separate? These are options that your aggregator will give you help you enjoy your reading. Aggregators take many forms. When you use a current-generation Web browser to visit blogs or news sites, you'll probably see the square orange logo that indicates the presence of an RSS feed. Depending on what kind of site you're visiting, you may even see a link with a whole list of feeds. Once you click on a link to the feed, you'll get the option to subscribe. Different browsers handle feeds differently, but you'll probably be given a choice of options for handling the subscription.

Would you prefer to let your Web browser handle your RSS feeds? Some browsers let you read the feeds within the program itself. Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari are among the browsers that incorporate this feature. This gives you a couple of advantages: You don't have to switch programs when you want to catch up on your feed reading, and you don't have to switch back to your aggregator if you run across a great site which you'd like to follow. There are disadvantages to using your browser, too, probably the most serious of which is that if you use more than one computer to access the Internet, you have no good way to synchronize your RSS feeds. If you take 15 minutes at lunch to catch up on the latest headlines at your desk, later on you'll be seeing some of the same headlines on your home computer. Most personal start pages offer only a limited number of viewable items per feed, though you may have the option to see more.

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