RSS feeds

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

What is RSS?
RSS is a clever way of delivering content around the internet - a bit like email but for news, features and other content published on websites.

So another new fangled gizmo, then?
RSS image It has been around for years - so long, in fact, that no one can remember with any certainty what the initials RSS stand for. But because it was always a rather geeky affair, RSS has been slow to catch on outside tech circles. Gradually, as the process of receiving the content becomes more user-friendly, that is changing.

Nope, still don't get it
So for example, where you see a list of latest headlines on a website, that's probably powered by RSS. The clever bit is that you can have those headlines sent to you. Imagine you only want to read about house prices, Manchester United and Tom Cruise. You'd subscribe to three relevant feeds, which you can then access from the same place.

How does it work for me?
Like email, you need an 'account' to receive the updated content, or 'feeds' as they are known. Up-to-date browsers such as Internet Explorer 7 and 8 and Firefox have these accounts built in. They allow you to 'subscribe' to the feeds, which will then automatically update whenever new content is available. You can then switch between feeds without having to visit each website.

The key to feeds is this logo: RSS. It's on websites to show you that RSS is available and on which pages. And there's one of these logos in your browser navigation, which will have turned orange if an RSS feed is available for the content on the page you are viewing. If you're using the browser's RSS account, you click this logo in the navigation to select the feed and 'subscribe'.

Still not convinced?
If, so far, this really isn't for you there is perhaps a better way to manage all this content by using one of the services that aims to organise the internet on one page, such as Netvibes, iGoogle or My Yahoo: Netvibes | iGoogle | myYahoo

  • For example, this is what This is Money looks like on Netvibes: Netvibes/thisismoney
  • Or you can download separate software that will do the job for you. Try: Feed reader | Newsgator
  • Or if you're feeling adventurous want to make your own feeds, try Yahoo Pipes
  • And if you run your own website or blog you can add feeds from other websites using free widgets. Widget Box
  • Here's one of our widgets that you can take for your site from Widget Box: Money-saving tips widget

Here are This is Money's feeds...

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