What are RSS feeds
RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication (RSS 2.0) or Rich Site Summary (RSS 0.91). The definitions hardly matter though. When you subscribe to Writing Cave RSS feeds you no longer have to visit the blog again and again to keep track of what I’m posting. The notification is directly sent to your RSS reader. Just like you use email readers to read emails, people use RSS readers to read the RSS feeds. Two well known RSS readers are:
These days I use Google reader to read about 200+ feeds I’ve subscribed to. Prior to this I used to use Bloglines, but the problem with Bloglines is that once you’ve opened a feed, if you close the browser window, that feed is considered read, and it is removed from the “updated feeds” list. With some feeds having more than 10 posts sometimes, it is not often possible to go through the entire feed at one time. Google reader doesn’t remove the opened feeds when you exit it. It simply dims them, still keeping them live.
Before using online RSS readers I was reading the RSS reader feature of Thunderbird but a long time back I stopped using it and I cannot remember now why. I use Thunderbird to manage my emails.
How do you subscribe to my RSS feeds?
It’s very simple. Once you have an account with Google reader (you don’t need a separate account if you are already using Gmail — just login and start adding the feeds) or Bloglines right-click the RSS feeds button (
) and copy the link location. Then go to your RSS reader, paste the link to the subscription box, and then add it. That’s it. Once you’ve added the feed, each time I publish a new post, your RSS feed will be automatically updated.
Some more RSS feed readers:
My Social Media Links