What is this RSS feed thingy?

What is this RSS feed thingy?

Some jargon for you:? RSS stands for “really simple syndication” and is one of the newest web formats to distribute information. Many websites -including the NDCUA website - distribute their content through RSS to whomever wants it.

Why is RSS good?
RSS solves two very important problems with web content distribution. Firstly, it allows you (the subscriber who wants this information) to stay up-to-date by retrieving the latest content from your favourite websites without having to actually visit them (this is a huge time saver)… and second, RSS helps you protect your privacy by not having to give out your e-mail address to join each website’s newsletter. An added benefit to the website owner is that his/her subscribers can actually get the information! With so much spam around, good legitimate mail often gets trapped with the real spam in filters. As an example for one word only - quite often you see FREE written as FRE..E so the spam filters miss the word and the genuine mail gets through.

All I’ve got to say for now is the spammers will get what’s coming to them. RSS has solved that challenge but people who are not technically savvy yet - are still requiring education on the topic, hence I have written this little summary.

How to subscribe to an RSS feed.
Fortunately it is easy! There are two main ways

1. A feed reader program that resides on their computer such as Amphetadesk (Windows, Linux, Mac) and NewsGator
2. Through an internet based RSS reader service (my preferred method as it is easy) such as Bloglines, My Yahoo, and Google Reader are among the most popular

I use my web browser (Firefox) to integrate my chosen feed reader google. You can do this too with the other two popular web browsers (Microsoft IE and Opera). Now what this feed reader stuff all simply means is that when you open your favourite web browser a little icon unobtrusively advises you that a web page or two has written some new content.

There is no pop ups to annoy you so when you feel like it you just visit the reader and see a topic summary. If you are interested (most likely as you signed up for the content in the first place) then it is there for you to read.

How to subscribe to the NDCUA RSS feed.
If you are new to RSS, we recommend that you try Google Reader’s service.

On the other hand, if you’re an avid RSS subscriber, just join using your favourite reader:

So just click here to subscribe. It is that easy!

What else can you do?

You can also just download our toolbar and you'll be automatically subscribed to the NDCUA blog only.

So if you find other sites you like with RSS content, you'll have to join a reader service. Like I said I like everything google because it is so easy.

all the best

David Ashton
Hon. Secretary NDCUA