Introducing RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a standardized format for packaging and delivering website content. It lets you share and distribute the information from your website across different channels, giving your web visitors the freedom to choose how they want to consume your content.

People are able to subscribe to the RSS feeds on their favorite websites, and receive automatic notifications when a site is updated with new content. The next generation of web browsers and email programs, including Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 2 and Microsoft Outlook 2007, all support RSS subscriptions in some way.

Websites both big and small can benefit from offering RSS feeds. Recently they have become a popular way to distribute podcasts, audio or video shows that people create and make available online. Weblogs have been leveraging the power of RSS for years. RSS is handy for people at all levels of the weblog ecosystem, from writing, to distributing, to reading.

Authors enjoy RSS because it gives them an efficient way to monitor many different websites and news sources, and also because it lets them quickly circulate their writings immediately after publication.

RSS is a great tool for editors, who many not be responsible for writing any original content at all. Rather, RSS gives an editor the power to keep a finger on the throbbing pulse of a community, and syndicate the best content back to their own website. RSS lets you publish your own online magazine by bringing together disparate writers, giving them exposure, and creating an audience for their work.

The editor approach to RSS is beneficial for everyone involved. The writer gets more exposure by having their original writing featured on another website. Web visitors get fresh, engaging content that is relevant to their interests. And the editor gets more traffic to her website by repackaging this content and making it readily available.

For more information about RSS, read our case study for Oregon Business Magazine, who uses RSS extensively on their new website.