What is RSS?

Have you been seeing little orange RSS and XML buttons everywhere, but you don't know what they're for?

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication"  and it's a really great way of keeping track of all your favourite stuff on the web.  You can get updates sent directly to you so you don't have to manually check websites and stuff.

Think of it this way- RSS is like the newspaper boy- it delivers stuff right to your computer.  The "Feed" is like the articles in your newspaper.  So when you subscribe to a feed, RSS delivers it to you. 

Why would I need that?  Isn't that what bookmarks and favorites are for?

How often do you bookmark a page, meaning to go back and read it when you have  more time?  Now how often do you really remember to go back?  For me, this is the best thing about RSS.  I just have to remember to do one thing (good for my cluttered busy mind). I check my feeds, and the info gets delivered right to me!

How do you get started?

First, you need to use an RSS reader of some kind.  My favourite reader is Google Reader because I can change it to a "list" mode, similar to a catalogue listing.  This way, I just skim down and open only the posts that interest me everyday. 

To add a feed to google reader, all you need to do is click on these links:

Add How-to-Make-Jewelry.com RSS to my Google

Follow the instructions and Voila! You've added my feed to your Google Reader or your Google home page.   If you use Gmail, then you already have an account.  If you don't, good old mother Google will guide you through to set one up.

Other feed reader options

Don't want to use Google's feed reader?  There are a ton of other options.

You can...

Download a free RSS Reader.  This is special software that reads the "RSS feeds" from the largest news organizations right down to little old me...

Windows -- RssReader

Mac -- NetNewsWire

Once you're set up, here's all you have to do...

Right-click (control-click for Mac users) on any orange RSS button on a site, blog or news source that interests you. Start by right-clicking on the orange button below. Then...

Select Copy Shortcut ("Copy Link to Clipboard" for Mac), and paste that URL into your RSS Reader.
And that's it! You're subscribed.  

 Subscribe in a reader

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Don't want to download new software and don't want to use Google? You can subscribe to feeds using Yahoo! and MSN too. Just click one of the links below...


Add How-to-Make-Jewelry.com to your "My Yahoo!"

Add How-to-Make-Jewelry.com RSS to your "My MSN"

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