Using RSS feeds

RSS feeds are a way to have headlines and news from multiple Web sites delivered to your computer for quick reading. Instead of visiting each Web site separately, RSS feeds and feed readers allow all the information you're interested in to be gathered into one place for easy access.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication", and it provides an easy way for you to be notified when a Web site you like adds new content. Whether it's the personal blog of a family member or your favorite news or hobby site, RSS feeds are updated automatically and almost instantaneously. Since you choose which RSS feeds to subscribe to, opening your feed reader lets you see any new content at a glance. Depending on the feed's settings, you can read the entire story within your feed reader or click a link to view the full story on the organization's Web site.

The screen shot above shows this Web site's RSS feed displayed in Internet Explorer 7. Only a portion of each blog entry is displayed in the feed, but based on the headline and opening words of the blog entry, you can decide whether to click on the story and continue reading.

Now that you know what RSS feeds are used for, these tutorials will show you how to subscribe to, read, and organize, search, and filter RSS feeds. The tutorials all use the RSS feed reader built into Internet Explorer 7, but there are many other feed readers available.