RSS, “Really Simple Syndication” (or called “Rich Site Summary” by some) is being utilized to empower people to subscribe, syndicate, and distribute content such as text, PDFs, audio, and even video to other interested parties. Just about any content can be syndicated via RSS. Once information is in an RSS format, an RSS-aware application can check the feed for changes and react to those changes in an useful matter. Subscribers can be notified instantly without visiting the website or source whenever changes occur. Such as when new posts appear on a website, a wiki (an open source online encyclopedia), a podcast is added, a download is available, or even a revision of an online book.

RSS-aware applications, sometimes called news aggregators gather RSS feeds and make them available to subscribers. This can be a RSS enabled browser like Safari (OS X only) or Firefox (cross-platform) or in the case of podcasts, Apple’s iTunes (cross-platform) or the free iPodder (cross-platform). Podcasting has now become mainstream allowing millions of people to subscribe to audio or video content at no charge (at least for now).

There are also many stand-alone shareware applications like NetNewsWire or iPodderX (both OS X only). Microsoft has recently announced support for RSS in their next version of Internet Explorer. You can also subscribe to RSS feeds via websites like MyYahoo!, MyMSN, Bloglines, and others if you like. Major news-oriented sites like Slashdot, Wired, CNN, CNET, Motley Fool, Forbes, and many personal weblogs (like this one) have been using RSS for syndication for some time.

RSS is not for just news only anymore. Nor is it for just “geeks” or webmasters either. RSS has become quite mainstream now-a-days. It is having quite an affect on traditional broadcasters, large corporations, news organizations, and politics. Many of them are joining up and now using RSS, weblogs, and podcasts themselves. Suddenly, a person that has something to share has an outlet without the need of a large organization and lots of money behind them. Using the Internet for distribution including even some peer-to-peer (P2P) networks like BitTorrent they can easily deliver their content to interested parties.

Weblogs are nothing new and have been around for some time. But the power of weblogs using RSS can not be denied as NBC found out recently. Only hours after Dan Rather had reported on a story based on what turned out to be fake documents only a short time before the presidential election. Bloggers tore the documents apart and exposed them to the Internet. In the past this report would have taken quite awhile for the traditional journalists to uncover. Now that has all changed and everyone is noticing.

So What is RSS Really?
RSS is a lightweight XML (Extensible Markup Language) format that organizes content in such a way that can be easily gathered by applications called aggregators or other websites. This can solve problems webmasters face regularly, such as increasing traffic, and gathering content and distributing the content for the sites they administrate. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for their Netcenter site. Large public and corporate “portals” have used RSS for sometime to distribute information. “RSS” spans several different versions of at least two different (but parallel) formats. But, now that this format has evolved and is slowly becoming more standardized, RSS has become a popular means of sharing content.

Using RSS for “podcasting” audio and video content that might be called “narrowband” broadcasting in some college media classes. Broadcasting to only targeted audiences, that have subscribed to the content, and are truly interested. This is exactly the perfect scenario for advertisers. So I do not think wide acceptance of advertising into podcasts will be too long in coming. Something will have to pay for the server bills and time for the content providers moving forward.

To get started all you have to do is bookmark a feed for an RSS enabled website using Safari, Firefox, or another RSS capable browser. Ever notice the RSS or XML buttons on the side or bottom of the websites you visit? Ever notice Safari showing a RSS logo in the address bar? Why visit the site every time just to find out that nothing new was added or find out you missed something posted awhile ago? Just subscribe by bookmarking the feed and you will be notified when a change occurs. It is best way to look at headlines from many sites at once and click to read only the ones you want to investigate. This is a real time-saver.

Take this site for an example. You can easily subscribe to my RSS feed, add my feed to MyYahoo!, MyMSN, Bloglines, NewsGator, MyFeedster, or NewsBurst. You can even subscribe to just one particular category by using the RSS feeds available for each individual category which are located on the right sidebar.

There are many ways to find and use RSS content from online directories, free and shareware news aggregators, and for podcasts using iTunes, iPodder, and others. Although, many are free. Some news aggregators are shareware and may include advanced features you may be interested in. Most of them come pre-loaded with subscriptions or directories to popular websites to get you started.

The future for this technology is very promising. Think “TiVo” for your computer for one. Video services are already popping up to provide content to interested users. There is a start-up company called Blinkx that specializes in search of content located within audio and video podcasts. They allow users to know which podcasts to subscribe to using their own hi-tech search technology that catalogs content from video and audio.

My guess as soon as the economy gets matured around this, the sky is the limit. RSS may just become one of the most important technologies on the Internet. RSS has already been showing up in all sorts of applications that leverage its abilities. Software updates, entertainment, event calendars, mailing lists, databases, photo libraries, news, audio and video content, political statements, address books, advertising, announcements, and websites, will all use RSS “real-time” like syndication more and more. There are “how to” books available all over the place like EMarketingBlogs as well as many “how to” websites.

Many websites are already being built using RSS to add “all” the content so webmasters can share resources. Database-driven websites also have the ability to post content on demand. Administrators simply select to “post” at a certain time and date. The “post” then appears and is syndicated to its readers unattended. There is no doubt that many more corporations will use RSS and weblogs to communicate their message to the masses.

So you should care about RSS and jump in and use the benefits to enhance your web experience. This will save you time and allow you be better informed to the content you care most about. So if you are not yet using RSS, why wait? My list below may help you get started.

A list of open source news readers is available from dmoz open directory project.

Top Pick Aggregators
Mac OS X: NetNewsWire, iPodderX, NewsMac Pro, PulpFiction, NewsFire, Shrook, NewsFan, OmniWeb V
Windows: SharpReader, FeedDemon, FeedReader, NewsWatcher,
From Windows Outlook: NewsGator
Linux: Straw
UNIX: rss2email
Web: Bloglines, News Is Free, MyYahoo!
Cross-platform: AmphetaDesk, Radio UserLand
Browsers with RSS: Safari (OS X), Firefox (cross-platform), Opera, Thunderbird, Mozilla
Pocket PC: Egress

Podcasts
Mac OS X: iTunes, iPodder, iPodderX
Windows: iTunes, iPodder
Linux: iPodder

Podcasting Directories
iPodder.org
Podcast.net
Podcast Alley
Government Podcasts
Odeo
NPR Podcasts
All Podcasts

    | Tags: How to, newsreader, rss