What is RSS?

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is an XML-based format for content distribution. In a simpler language, instead of having to come to the Newsphp blog each day to check for new posts, RSS allows you to subscribe to our content feed and receive our new posts in your RSS aggregator software. RSS is meant to take the hassle out of staying up-to-date by giving you direct access to our latest posts as they are published.

How to start using RSS feeds?

The first thing you need is something called a news reader or aggregator. This is basically a one-stop-shop that you can check for the latest new content from your favorite news outlets, blogs and Web sites. It allows you to easily subscribe to different RSS feeds, and to organize and display these feeds as you like. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, others which are downloadable applications - and most of them are free. The most popular Web-base aggregators are: Bloglines, Google Reader and NewsGator. Some of the most popular desktop aggregators are: Awasu, FeedDemon, Newsfire and NetNewsFire. Different readers work on different operating systems, so you will have to take this into account when you make your choice.

Once you have chosen a reader, you now have to subscribe to the RSS feeds of the sites you are interested in. Most major news sites and virtually all blogs have RSS feeds. Normally you will see a small orange box with the letters XML or RSS indicating that a feed is available. If you click on the button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the RSS feed into your news reader or by cutting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader.