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Before “For You” pages and personal social algorithms, RSS was the best way to get your favorite content directly without any layer in between. While it has fallen out of favor with most people since the advent of social media and news aggregator sites, it is still quite useful today.
Let’s have a look at what RSS is and how you’re able to use it to keep up with content you care about.
What Is RSS?
RSS was first introduced in 1999 from a collaboration between Netscape engineers Dan Libby and Ramanathan V. Guha. Initially called RDF Site Summary, it allowed websites to share updates in a simple format. Shortly after, tech pioneer Dave Winer took the reins, evolving RSS into the format we use today.
By 2002, Winer’s version—Really Simple Syndication—became the standard, allowing users to control their own content feeds. In 2004, Mozilla popularized the now-iconic orange RSS icon, marking RSS as a key tool for staying informed online.
How to Use RSS
You will need an RSS feed and an RSS reader to get started.
What Is an RSS Feed?
An RSS feed is simply an XML text file that contains the latest updates from a particular website. For a blog entry, the RSS file will include a headline, description, date, link, image, author information, and the full entry or a summary.
While RSS is not as popular as it was in its heyday, numerous websites, including MakeUseOf, have an RSS icon on their homepage that you’re able to click to find the RSS feed. If you can’t find the RSS icon, you can also visit site.com/feed or site.com/rss.
An RSS feed looks like an unreadable text file if you don’t understandXML formatting. To use an RSS feed, you’ll need a news aggregator.
What Is an RSS Reader?
RSS readers, also known as news aggregators, are software applications that track multiple content sources and present updates in a central location for easy access.There are several RSS readers, and they all perform the same basic function: converting RSS files into a user-readable format. They list these updates in chronological order and keep track of what you have and have not read. They come in three main forms: desktop apps, mobile apps, and browser-based services.
Some popular feed readers includeNewsBlur,Feedly,Feedreader,Feedbro, andInoreader. Some of these services offer sync support between multiple platforms, so you may use them on your phone and desktop.
All you need to do is copy and paste the RSS link into your favorite reader, and you get a live feed of the content you love.
How to Add RSS Feeds to Your Reader
Before you can start reading updates via RSS, you will need to add a few feeds to your feed reader.
First, you will need an RSS feed URL to enter into your reader. The RSS icon is usually among the social media icons, either in the website’s header, footer, or sidebar. For example,MakeUseOf’s RSS feedcan be found by clicking the hamburger icon in the top-left corner and expanding the list of icons at the bottom.
Alternatively, appending /feed to the end of a website’s URL will bring up the RSS feed, in most cases. This works especially well for WordPress websites. Sometimes, this will start a download, and you will have to open the file in your browser to see the feed URL.
If you still can’t find the RSS feed for the website, you can right-click on the page,select View Page Source, and search for “RSS.” You should see the RSS link come up as one of the instances of the word.
With the feed URL copied and ready to go, the next step is subscribing to the feed using your reader of choice. I’ve chosenNewsBlurfor this demonstration, but any cross-platform reader should suit you just fine. Note that I’m using NewsBlur’s web app, but it is also available oniOSandAndroid.
Repeat for all the websites you frequent. Once you have all your favorite websites in your feed reader, you can get updates without having to manually check them.
The Benefits of Using RSS
There are several advantages to using RSS to follow your favorite websites, but here are just a few of them, listed in order of importance:
Description
It is an open-data format
RSS isn’t owned or controlled by a single person/company. It is a publicly accessible web specification that anyone can use. That’s part of why RSS isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. While RSS readers are paid software, most are free and open-source. You can even host and run an RSS feed reader yourself.
It is easy to use
It provides vast customization options
With RSS, you are in complete control. you’re able to customize the appearance of your reader, update frequency updates, and sort your subscriptions to make them easier to navigate. You can even combine multiple RSS feeds into a single custom feed and set up filters for the topics you are interested in.
It brings all your favorite content to one place
Social media algorithms tend to be very random, and you never quite know what you will get without investing considerable time into tweaking your feed. RSS, on the other hand, puts you in control from the start and assures that the content delivered to you is what you want to see. It also saves the time spent scrolling for news on multiple websites.
In conjunction with social media algorithms, RSS is also more private. You don’t have to hand over heaps of personal data to keep up to date with the news and other websites.
No comments
This can either be a benefit or a drawback, depending on the websites you follow. However, the web can be a noisy place, and RSS allows you to focus on the content without pointless arguments.
Today, RSS is not as trendy as it once was. Big tech has mostly abandoned it and faces stiff competition from social media algorithms that learn and optimize for your viewing habits. However, it is still the best way to create your own curated content feed.
