The Design District, Lower Oak Lawn
What is RSS?
Many people have asked me what RSS is and how to use it so I decided to create a page describing what it is, how it works and how my readers can use it to easily keep up with new posts on my blog! I not so recently discovered the wonder that is RSS and hope my readers will love it as much as I do!
What is RSS?
RSS is a technology that is being used by millions of web users around the world to keep track of their favorite blogs and websites. RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and basically serves as an inbox for content from your favorite blogs.
In the past you had to ‘bookmark’ websites in your browser and manually return to them on a regular basis to see if anything had been added. RSS takes the burden off of web surfers and lets you know when your favorite sites are updated. Updates are literally “fed” to you!
Frequently you’ll see the word “subscribe” associated with RSS because it basically works like a magazine subscription. Except for instead of receiving updates once a month, you get them every time the sites you have a “subscription” to are updated.
How will RSS make my life easier?
There are tons of amazing benefits to using RSS. The biggest benefit, in my opinion, is the time it saves me. Here are a few more reasons to try it out:
- An “Inbox” for blog posts – Instead of manually going to each of your favorite blogs and websites, RSS brings headlines into one easy place.
- Quick Load times – RSS feeds are very light and load a lot quicker than traditional web pages.
- RSS allows you to keep track of several blogs at once. With all the time you’ll save you can keep up with a lot more websites than if you merely bookmarked them!
How do I use RSS?
1. Select a Feed Reader
Your first step to read sites with RSS is to select a RSS Feed Reader. A few easy to use, free options are Google Reader and Bloglines. I personally like Google Reader because I can integrate it with my iGoogle page and it is a familiar layout.
Both of these work a lot like email inboxes. For example, in Google Reader you’ll see that as you subscribe to feeds that unread entries will be shown in bold. You can click on them to see the latest stories and as you scroll to the next entry, the previous one will be “Marked as Read”. Additionally, each post title is a link which gives you the option to go directly to the post or you can read it in the feed reader.
NOTE: To post comments you will have to visit the actual post page.
The best way to figure this out is to try it so go ahead and start by signing up and adding LowerOakLawn.com! Soon enough, checking your RSS reader will become as much of a habit as checking your email or drinking that morning cup of coffee.
2. Find Feeds to Subscribe to
If you already have some sites bookmarked that you add regularly you can go ahead and subscribe to those first. I’m sure when you’ve visited websites you’ve seen tons of fun little orange icons like the one below.
Anytime you see one of these icons it means that the site has a feed you can subscribe to. Adding the feed to you reader is as simple as clicking the subscribe link then choosing your feed reader of choice
Another easy way to add subscriptions to your feed reader is to simply place the feed url (like this one: http://feeds.feedburner.com/loweroaklawn) in the “Add to subscription” box!
3. Read and Enjoy!
I hope this tutorial has helped! If you have any questions feel free to ask me or leave a comment below and I will answer any questions you have!
This is too confusing! Are there any other options?
If your mind is swirling and you can’t fathom figuring out RSS, don’t stress. Most sites offer alternatives for getting site updates, such as by email. Enter your email in right side bar or the box below and LowerOakLawn.com posts will be sent directly to your inbox!
Worried about giving out your email? Don’t be. Our privacy policy protects our subscribers from spam.
