Most readers of this blog have heard of RSS, but don’t know what it stands for – or more importantly, what it does.
RSS means ‘Really Simple Syndication’“ it can be thought of as streaming headlines, better known as ‘feeds.’ XML and RSS can be thought of interchangeably. RSS technology allows headlines to be delivered directly to any online location and in real-time (as the headlines change).
Any website or blog with the bright orange RSS symbol allows its new entries/articles to be sent directly to you. As a tip-off, modern browsers like Firefox 2.0 will usually display an RSS icon button in the address bar if the site has a feed.
That’s where Google Reader comes in.
You need a special ‘Reader’ in order to view an RSS feed. Google to the rescue! Google Reader is a browser-based application that works with all popular web browsers, Windows, Mac or Linux. It has the most engaging and easy to use interface I have found, even compared to Netvibes, BlogLines or NewsGator. You can easily view and keep track of tons of blogs I have 31 as of now.
Google Reader is sweet because it’s simple to understand. It is also designed similarly to Gmail, my email account of choice. So stop clowning around. Get an account. Find the orange icon on your favorite blog like IntelliGrad or TMZ. Just copy the link of the site and paste it into the ‘Add Subscription’ box on the left side of Google Reader. Presto! You can now stay updated on Brad and Angelina’s covert Vegas marriage last night ..
