All the News You Think You Want: An Introduction to RSS
What is RSS?
RSS (Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary) is a technical specification for syndicating information, or distributing it to multiple Web sites.
RSS output from a Web site is called a feed, and the software used to display it is called a news reader or RSS aggregator. Readers or aggregators gather news items from different sources, where "news" is broadly defined to include everything from New York Times articles to the latest posting on a colleague’s research wiki.
What are the benefits of using RSS?
RSS eliminates the need to search numerous locations for new information; rather, users can subscribe to sources such as Web sites and have new information "pushed" to them via the RSS aggregator. The aggregator will combine and organize feeds from multiple sites into a single-screen Web display, with the new content clearly marked. Thus the aggregator Google Reader describes itself as "your inbox for the Web."
Getting started in four steps:
1. Create an account in one of the many Web-based news readers. Pick one that does not include banner advertising:
• Bloglines <www.bloglines.com>: One of the oldest, with a basic, no-frills display.
• Google Reader <www.google.com/reader>: Yet another Google product that works well.
• Netvibes <www.netvibes.com>: A graphically oriented reader that provides not only the typical list display, but also a Web page with layout and color options for the user.
2. Add content by subscribing to RSS feeds. The news reader may provide a search function to assist with this. On Web sites check for one of these icons:
Or, try an RSS directory such as Feedster <www.feedster.com>. You can also create a feed, to act as an alert, for a stored literature search in PubMed or another online database. Try such feeds for a journal whose Web site does not provide a current issue RSS feed.
3. Manage content. News readers can organize content (using folders, categories, or descriptive tags), save content (Bloglines “clippings,” Google Reader starred items), and export the blogroll (list of feeds) to a file that can be imported into a different reader if desired.
4. Share content using the reader’s social features: Display Bloglines clippings as a public blog, designate items to be shared in Google Reader, or publish your selections on the Netvibes "ecosystem."
For more information regarding RSS or for assistance with setting up a RSS feed for a saved literature search, please contact the HSLS reference desk at 412-648-8796, or e-mail medlibq@pitt.edu.
--Patricia Weiss
