RSS Explained
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and it’s simply a way to neatly format frequently updated content for easy digestion. Many websites, especially blogs, have RSS feeds that you can grab and put into your favorite RSS reader.
I recommend Google Reader because it’s free, easy to use, and allows you to manage your feeds into folders & categories. Using an RSS Reader such as Google Reader it’s possible to consume much more information at a faster pace. Do you happen to use Gmail (Google’s email solution)? If so, you can display your updates in “list” format and skim over blog content just as easily as you check your email!
Rather than having to skim across 20 different blogs every morning, you’ll now be able to just add the RSS Feed to each of your favorite blogs right into your Google Reader account, login for a few minutes, and see each new entry show up in your Reader account displaying only the title of each blog post.
If you notice an interesting title you can click on it for more information, and in a matter of seconds go directly to that particular blog entry. Using this method you can keep track of what everyone is blogging about without draining your hourglass.
Once you’ve created your Google Reader account (or any other RSS Reader account) you can add new feeds by simply copying and pasting the RSS Feed URL to your favorite blogs or RSS supported websites.
For example, to add the RSS Feed for the Pro From Go blog into your Google Reader account you can simply click on the RSS buttons on this website and then choose the Google Reader option. Or, you can manually add the feed by first logging into your Google Reader account, clicking the “Add A Subscription” button, and then pasting the following Pro From Go RSS Feed URL:
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/profromgo?format=xml
Using an RSS Reader you’ll be able to consume information at a much faster pace without having to surf to all of these different websites, learn the menu layout, & navigation options. It’s almost like having your own personal secretary to spoon feed you your favorite updates! Give it a try if you’re not using RSS already, I guarantee you’ll be hooked.