RSS- What is it?

RSS Stands for Really Simple Syndication.  To sum it up in two simple steps, you use an RSS “reader” and then subscribe to RSS “feeds”.

Why do this?  What’s the point?  Well simply put, RSS feeds are a time saver.  Instead of going to your 10 favorite websites to see if there is any new “news” or “stories” you go to one “website” – which is your rss reader – and then you can see which websites have any new “news” or “stories”.  You can see all of your favorite sites stories (if they have RSS feeds) on one page, very fast, no clicking on your bookmarks, no ads to look at and be distracted with, straight and to the point – you get what you want – your favorite sites, all on one “page”.

I will show you a quick “how to” set this up using Google Reader (The RSS “Reader”).  There are many others out there and most of them are free to use and offer the same benefits.  If you need more in depth information on how to get it setup, feel free to e-mail me.

1.  Click HERE and sign up for a Google account (you can use an existing e-mail account).

2.  Look for the following image on your favorite websites  (sometimes its just an orange and white box that says RSS that you can click on)

3.  Click on it, then click “Add to Google Reader”

That’s it!  You will now be able to build your reader, and all of your favorite websites will show up on the left hand column – you can also click “add subscription” to get a list of other sites that offer RSS “feeds”.

Start out by adding my RSS feed so you will know as soon as I add another informative blog, then add some of your favorite news and media sites and you will get the hang of it.

But wait, there’s more!  Use this powerful tool to search craigslist for you!  If you don’t know what craigslist is – its basically a FREE online classified website, that is VERY nice!  I have furnished almost my entire home off of craigslist…No..Seriously!  So here ya go – go to craigslist.com and do a search for whatever you are in the market for, you will see a list of matches and on the bottom right of the screen you will see the orange and white RSS button, click this and add it as a subscription.  Now, anytime someone posts something that matches your search term you will get notification as soon as you go to your rss reader!  This is a great way to save money on just about anything you can think of!