Many of you may have never used RSS feeds before. The whole topic might make you screw up your eyes in confusion. Believe me, like you – I was a non-RSS user for the majority of my online experience. I understand the confusion that can come from even seeing those three letters put together in that configuration! I’d like to make things a little easier on you by presenting you with some of the benefits and then giving you a list of some excellent resources geared at new users that will help you get started. After you visit those resources, be sure to come back here and add Deepest Health to your feed reader!
My RSS story: an epic saga
I didn’t use RSS until about a year and a half ago. Somehow I happened upon actor Wil Wheaton’s website in its prior incarnation. Because I was a big fan of Star Trek, I decided to poke around and see what he had to say. When I learned what an incredibly well-spoken, funny and intelligent person he is – I decided I would visit every day to keep up with his thoughts. At the time, he wasn’t posting every day – so sometimes I would go to the site and find he hadn’t posted. Eventually, I stopped checking every day – sometimes only every two days or so. Unfortunately, I would then sometimes miss posts because he would post 3 times in a day a couple of days in a row – pushing the posts down the screen!
I have no idea what possessed me to click the strange little orange icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen. It’s sort of pretty, I was seeing it all over the place – so I clicked it. At the time, I think it took me to a page with a whole list of little icons and it was a little confusing. I had never used a feedreader (aka feed aggregator) before so didn’t know which one to use. I did a little internet research (I’m a grad student – research is what I do) and came up with answers. I love RSS now, and really don’t know what I would do without it. Like any great technology it gets more feature-rich and easier to use every day with development by amazing people like those at feedburner.com. For the record, I use Google Reader and love it. I have about 20 feeds in topics as diverse as blogging, personal finance, chinese medicine, natural medicine and parenting.
What are 5 reasons you should start using RSS?
1. It is an easy way to keep track of websites you enjoy: If you have been using the Internet for any period of time, you have likely run across sites that contain information you value. For most of those, you have probably used bookmarks. Bookmarks are a great way to keep track of website addresses you would like to visit in the future. However, they are somewhat less useful when you visit sites that feature content that frequently updates – such as blogs and online magazines. You might run into some of the problems I listed above, for instance. RSS helps you to keep up with websites that feature frequently updated content by assembling that content into a kind of “online magazine” featuring all the sites you enjoy. When you log into your feedreader, it will greet you with a page of all the content that has updated since your last login, arranged in whatever way you like. Nothing could be easier.
2. You are in total control of when the information comes to you: Some of you may get email updates from your favorite websites and blogs. This is a great way to keep up with new information and I offer an email subscription option for my readers. However, email subscriptions are not under your control in the same way RSS is in your control. With RSS you don’t see the content until you’re ready, upon logging into your feedreader. With email you often do have options in terms of how often the content comes (as posts are made, daily, weekly, etc…) but it isn’t as optimal as RSS. Further, I get so much email in a day that sometimes emailed updates get lost in the shuffle – you wouldn’t want that to happen with the content of your beloved sites, would you? I didn’t think so.
3. Most feedreaders allow you to email, bookmark and otherwise keep track of articles you really enjoy: A feature I really value about Google Reader that I assume is present in many other feed aggregators is the ability to share and save articles you particularly enjoy. Google reader offers email options as well as the ability to “star” articles which are then easily accessible at any future time. Many blogs and website will also embed links to various social media sites (like Digg, Stumbleupon and Technorati) at the bottom of their feeds to make it simpler for you to share your admiration for the article in question. This ability to easily share and save the articles you enjoy makes online media more vital and creates a real resource for research and community building.
4. It allows you to show support for those sites you enjoy: Many bloggers and creators of other revolving online content work many hours to create content for you to consume. I know that when I value something that someone has created, I like to do what I can to show my appreciation. Sometimes I make a donation to their site, sometimes leave a comment of appreciation. Adding a site’s RSS feed to your reader is a great way to show appreciation – it sends the message that you value their content enough to read it on a regular basis in a way they can easily see through their feed tracking service. Once enough people subscribe, they can also display the number of subscribers on their site which acts as a powerful message to new visitors that the content on the site is valued by a large number of people. We all like to pay people back for the value they provide for us – RSS is a way for you to do that for online content creators.
5. It is one way to be more efficient online: As an unreasonably busy person, I am always looking to increase my efficiency. Going online can be a HUGE time waster. However, that doesn’t mean that people who are seeking to increase their personal productivity should just avoid the Internet. The Internet is a great source of information! We just need to learn to be more efficient in our use of this tool. RSS is one potential feather in your online efficiency cap! As I’ve already discussed, it is a simple way to get the information you have already discovered is valuable – this can dramatically reduce the amount of time you spend trying to access great information on the Internet.
If you’re sold – start your adventures in RSS with my feed! If you would like more information about how it works or if you’re confused about how to get started with RSS – check out the following resources. I think they represent the best of what the Internet has to offer on the topic.
Yaro Starak on What is RSS and How Do I use it?
The simplest intro ever, What is RSS?
Happy reading!
Eric Grey
(I want to offer my apologies to those already reading on my feed – thank you, thank you, thank you for your support. I can’t say how much it means to me that people are interested in Chinese medicine. I thought it would be a good idea to write an article about RSS for those who don’t know much about it… a demographic that represents a pretty significant portion of my readership.)
Tags: Blogging
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey Eric, do you know if it’s possible to mark articles as unread in google reader? I accidentally marked all as read. Oops!
Thanks,
Katrina
Katrina,
I just looked around and couldn’t figure out how to make that happen! I’m so sorry – maybe that feature is a little too powerful? You might want to do a Google search or two, maybe you can locate a helpfile?
Otherwise, you can go through the archives – I know that’s not the best feeling option, but…
You could also maybe unsubscribe and resubscribe? I know when I subscribe to a new feed, the 10 or so most recent items are populated in my feed reader…
Let me know if you need more help.
Eric
Tried all those options, but it didn’t seem to work. Thank you anyway for the advice. It’s not the end of the world!
:)
I figured out how to mark items unread!! When reading the item press “m” to switch between read and unread.
Katrina,
Good work! I’m glad you figured it out.
e
Eric- I wandered here from research on schools, and I wanted to say you explain things really well. You’re clear and enthusiastic, from Extraordinary vessels to RSS feeds. I’m looking forward to keeping an eye on this blog.
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