All the info goodness of the blogosphere in a convenient snack size.
So many blogs, so little time. If you want to stay at the top of the information food chain, you gotta read 'em - lots of 'em. And you have to do it every day. But as that list of must-read blogs grows, hunting and gathering the latest posts becomes a daily drain. You could hire an assistant to read them for you. Or tap into RSS.
Shorthand for "rich site summary" or "really simple syndication," depending on whom you ask, RSS lets publishers use XML code to define the content of their Web sites, much the way HTML lets them determine the format in which content is displayed. With RSS, visitors can access multiple sites without having to go to each one. You subscribe to the RSS feeds of sites you like, and voilé: The content comes to you by way of an aggregator, which sends headlines and links to a browser or a downloadable news reader on your mobile device or desktop.
Once the exclusive domain of geeks, RSS is getting more popular as blogging booms. And as more people climb on, they're finding that RSS feeds can be broadly useful, harvesting news headlines, classified ads, press releases, and even internal corporate project collaboration notes.
The number of feeds grows daily: news from the BBC, seasonal conditions from
The Old Farmer's Almanac, product lists from Amazon, even hottie du jour photos from Pornanza.net. Job seekers anxious about seeing the freshest Craigslist posts can subscribe to a feed instead of hitting Reload for hours in a paranoid funk. Yahoo! recently integrated RSS into My Yahoo!, Microsoft is rumored to be putting it into Longhorn (the next iteration of Windows), and Blogger just introduced blog support for an RSS spinoff called Atom that expands the format's metadata capabilities. "What's next? I have no idea," says RSS godfather and UserLand Software founder Dave Winer. "My involvement started out as a casual weekend project - then people actually started using it."
As the global spam epidemic worsens, RSS is becoming increasingly attractive to both publishers and readers. Ezines allow you to automatically receive information - but it lands in clogged inboxes already overflowing with viruses, Nigerian investment schemes, and fantasy meds. "RSS helps people cope with data clutter," says Chris Pirillo, publisher of Lockergnome.com and an RSS evangelist. "At a glance, you see what's happening all over the Web on topics that matter to you, without having to give up personal information or remember a billion URLs."
To tap in, first check whether the sites you want offer feeds. Look for an RSS or XML link on the homepage. Next, you'll need a news reader (see box at right). There are options for almost every OS, and plug-ins for Web browsers or email apps.
RSS makes other services possible, too. Technorati can tell publishers when you've linked to their blog or Web site. Feedster trawls RSS feeds, allowing you to convert results into custom-crafted news. You can track instances of your name on other blogs for automated ego-surfing (not that I've tried this). You can even share your favorite feeds, sort of like swapping music playlists.
In the end, RSS may not save you time, but it'll help pack more info into the time you have, says Jonno d'Addario, editor of the sex blog Fleshbot, which (big surprise) offers an RSS feed. "Since I've started using a news aggregator, I don't spend eight hours a day compulsively noodling through a dozen favorite blogs anymore," he says. "Instead I spend eight hours a day compulsively noodling through hundreds of RSS feeds." Ah, progress.
5 Ways to Get Hooked Up
• Bloglines www.bloglines.com
Runs on most browsers and PDAs. Free.
• FeedDemon www.feeddemon.com
Runs on most Windows operating systems. $29.95.
• NewsGator www.newsgator.com
Runs on top of Microsoft Outlook. $29.
• PocketRSS www.atomicdb.com
Runs on Pocket PC devices. $5.
• My Yahoo! add.my.yahoo.com/rss
Runs on most browsers. Free.
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