Root Cause Analysis Blog

Hello again, Evan Erwin here. This week I’m going to focus on subscribing and reading a site feed. This sounds a little strange, but once you figure out how and why these feeds exist and how best to work with them, you’ll not only increase your productivity, you’ll get to read the Root Cause Blog on your own terms and no matter where you are!

Read on to learn how to “subscribe” to the Root Cause Blog!

If you’re new to RSS and syndication on the web, we hope this page offers a straightforward exploration of the purpose and promise these changes bring to Internet publishing and browsing as you know it now.

What is RSS?

“RSS” stands for Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary. Really Simple Syndication is probably the most widely agreed-upon choice. As far as we are concerned, both acronyms do an inadequate job of describing what RSS actually is: RSS is a standard for publishing regular updates to web-based content. Using this standard, Web publishers provide updates, such as the latest news headlines or weblog postings. Meanwhile, consumers use RSS reader applications (or one of a growing number of online services) to collect and monitor their favorite feeds in one place (RSS content from a publisher, viewed in one of these readers, is often called a “feed”).

Consumer Bottom Line: RSS makes reviewing a large number of sites in a very short time possible.

Publisher Bottom Line: RSS permits instant distribution of content updates to consumers.

Who publishes RSS feeds?

Some of the biggest names on the web now offer content using RSS feeds:

• USATODAY.com
• BBC News Headlines
• ABCNews
• CNET
• Yahoo!
• Amazon.com
• …and many more!

In addition, thousands of weblog authors publish feeds to keep themselves better connected to their readers/admirers/critics. Blogs are a driving force behind a recent surge of interest in RSS and syndicated content.

How do I read RSS Feeds?

If you want to collect and browse feeds you have many choices, but there are two primary categories of feed reading applications: installable desktop programs and online services. There are many desktop applications for Windows and Mac OS system users, but two of our favorites are FeedDemon (Windows) and NetNewsWire (Mac OS X). Both require a small purchase price but are tops for ease of use and ship with dozens of feeds pre-loaded so you can explore the syndication “universe” right away. Free readers are available as well; a search for “RSS Reader” at popular search sites will yield many results.

If you would prefer to use an online service to track and manage your feeds, you have the advantage of being able to access your feed updates anywhere you use a web browser (and in some cases, on mobile devices). Also, any upgrades or new features are added automatically. The trade-off comes in different (some would say fewer) features and slightly slower performance versus desktop systems. NewsGator, Bloglines, and new RSS content capabilities in My Yahoo! are probably the three best-known examples of web-based feed reading services.

How Do I “Subscribe” to the Root Cause Blog?

Easily. Once you download a feed reader or create an account with an online feed service such as those mentioned above, you can use these buttons to add the Root Cause Analysis Blog to your subscriptions:

 You’ll also notice these are located on the right side of the main page for easy access.

Good luck and thanks for reading! See you next week.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, November 17th, 2005 at 2:26 pm and is filed under Technical Support. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.