RSS (the meaning of the acronym has changed from RDF Site Summary to Rich Site Summary to Really Simple Syndication) (Wikipedia 1) was created in 1999 by programmers at Netscape Labs. Subsequent to the release of its original version (0.90), RSS development took divergent and confusing paths. On the one hand, Netscape continued to develop RSS technology through version 0.91. On the other, Userland Software, an entirely separate company, simultaneously developed the same technology using different specifications but the same version numbers. For a time, there was chaos. However, Netscape eventually left RSS by the wayside and responsibility for the technology’s maintenance and evolution fell squarely on the shoulders of Userland Software (RSS-Specifications 1). In 2003, shortly after releasing RSS 2.0, Userland Software bequeathed ownership of that version’s specifications to the Berkman Center for Internet and Society (Harvard Law 1).
So what is RSS? Well, it’s an “XML-based format for content distribution” (RSS-Specifications 2). But if you’re here and you’re asking, that probably doesn’t tell you much at all. I’ve always had a favorite analogy for describing RSS. If you’ve ever watched the West Wing, you’ve almost certainly witnessed a scene in which Leo (the Chief of Staff) hands Jed (the President) his morning briefings. Essentially, those briefings synopsized everything important that had happened in the United States government since the morning before. They came from the Deparments of Justice, Defense, and Treasury. They came from the National Security advisor and state and local governments. They came from everywhere, and the number of staffers and officials involved in composing the final briefings was enormous. Consider RSS that staff. If you give it the opportunity. RSS will pair down information from all of your favorite websites into neat little feeds of headlines and summaries.
The way it works is simple. Webmasters provide information in the form of RSS feeds. Consumers then subscribe to those feeds using RSS readers (or, in the lexicon, aggregates), providing them with a streamlined condensations of website content. For those interested in utilizing RSS technology, the first step is obtaining a reader. There are a lot of options, but they all fall into one of two categories. Either they’re client programs which have to be downloaded and installed (e.g. Vienna, Mindity, Netnewsreader), or web-based programs which can be accessed through the websites that host them (e.g. Google Reader, Newsgator Online). Both have their advantages so choosing one is really a matter of preference. If you’re still having trouble deciding, the website Webagon offers a comparison of features for a number of different readers (Webagon 1).
Personally, I’ve been using Netnewsreader to monitor a boat-load of RSS feeds since 2003. Virtually every summer I end up working on a Democratic political campaign, often in a public relations capacity, meaning it’s always been imperative that I be up to date on current events. Prior to the advent of RSS I spent hours sifting through the contents of 10-20 different websites for relevant stories. Nowadays I’ve got a setup in Netnewsreader that provides me with all of the updates I need in an easily accessible format. If I were to offer one caveat to people who are considering using RSS to stay on top of the news, it would be to use primary sources. Subscribe to the AP Wire, or Reuters, or United Press International. One of the problem’s I often ran into subscribing to RSS feeds from sites like Breitbart or Drudge Report or the Huffington Post was that the sites themselves were actually summaries. That meant that I was getting a summary of an article from one of those sites in my RSS aggregator, which linked to that site’s complete summary of another article, which in turn linked to the article itself at AP or the New York Times. Subscribing to primary sources helps cut out that middle man and save time.
RSS is amazing. It’s simple, practical, free, and unreasonably easy to use. Really, there’s no excuse for not having an aggregator configured if you rely on the internet for your news. So hop to it already.
Unknown Author. “Web-application Comparison Engine.” Retrieved from Webagon on April 13, 2008.
http://webagon.com/comparison?filter0=2614&filter1=**ALL**&filter2=**ALL**
Unknown Author. “RSS 2.0 at Harvard Law.” Retrieved from the Berkman Center for Internet Technology on April 13, 2008.
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.html
Unknown Author. “History of RSS.” Retrieved from RSS-Specification on April 13, 2008.
http://www.rss-specifications.com/history-rss.htm
Unknown Author. “RSS” Retrieved from Wikipedia on April 13, 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS
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3 comments:
But if you don't subscribe to Drudge you're the last to learn about Monica's blue dress! ;)
I enjoyed your blog post, it had some really good research and information. I agree with your last statements. RSS really is easy to use and uncomplicated. For one who likes to frequently visit the same sites, the use of RSS can save one lots of time!
I thought you did a good job with your analogy of the West Wing, finally something other than definitions.
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