This page is to help new readers better understand RSS or Really Simple Syndication. This is a feature we've been using on our site, as we believe RSS makes it easier for people to access content without having to visit the site on a regular basis. Using a RSS reader, you can easily monitor news from dozens of websites, not just ours. You've probably seen sites on the web that display buttons similar to these:

There is an effort by some organizations to standardize the RSS feed icon. The Mozilla Foundation has allowed various groups to use their icon and many groups, including Microsoft, are promoting it. This new icon looks like the one below.

If you're like many people, you clicked a similar button while at a favorite site and wondered what you did wrong. Although the page is readable, it isn't easily understood unless you know XML. What you were looking at was a RSS feed. As example, our original RSS feed contained items such as the following.

As you might guess, this information is designed for other programs and web applications, not people. These programs parse the data and present it in a more useful format. Below, you see how our RSS feed displays on My Yahoo!

As a Yahoo! user, you would only have to visit your MY Yahoo! page to see which stories were new and if they appealed to you. If you liked a story, you could click the title and be taken to the full article on our website. This is an example where RSS feeds are displayed within a browser. A similar functionality can be enjoyed using a dedicated RSS reader.

Most RSS readers and services such as MY Yahoo! or NewsIsFree allow you to customize the information. For example, My Yahoo! provides several different options such as how many days to display and whether a summary shows. Typically, dedicated RSS readers provide more functionality such as saving items or forwarding them to others via email.

On our site, we provide buttons under the RSS Options section on the home page. As you can see, webmasters can offer RSS in many ways, not just the orange buttons.

The first button is used for just about any feed reader. When you click this button you will  see a number of services listed ranging from  BlogLines to My Yahoo! We use a service from Addthis.com which makes it easier for readers to perform 1 button sign ups.

The second button, RSS Fwd allows you to subscribe to our feed using email. The service will send you the most recent story info as an email item. This is an ideal option for people who don't want to worry about RSS, but want to stay current. This is different from our email newsletter which is sent weekly.

The third button is for ZapTXT. They monitor this site for new articles or keywords found within our RSS feed headlines. They will send you an alert via Email, Instant Messenger, or Mobile Device.

If you're a regular reader, you know this is an area we play around with and test out new services. Sometimes we add and sometimes we drop.

Our suggestion is to play around with different services and programs. We've created online demos to help you better understand RSS. Also, please note there are many other readers that can be found at popular download sites such as Snapfiles or Download.com

Our RSS feed URL: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ProductivityPortfolio

7 Minute FeedDemon Demo
2 Minute Demo on Using RSS with My Yahoo!
Yahoo! RSS FAQ Page
5 Minute demo on Subscribing to RSS with Mozilla Thunderbird
Google Reader Makes the Grade