Original author Marie-Claire Camp

So you’re reading your favorite blog or news site, and you see a link for their RSS feed. What could that have to do with you? Why should you care, and finally:

What is an RSS Feed?
Check out this really great (simple) explanation video RSS in Plain English on the Common Craft Show.

Here’s another one called How to explain RSS the Oprah way which is kind of girlish, but offers the same content in text, rather than pictures.

Wait, what does the acronym “RSS” even stand for?
Surprisingly it means, “Really Simple Syndication” Read more on wikipedia.

Why should I personally read RSS feeds?
They keep you up to date and save you some serious time. RSS Feeds channel content, as it’s put out on the internet, and deliver it directly to you. It’s a great way to quickly and easily follow what’s going on in the world, keep up with news, blogs, your friends’ photos (anything on the internet that updates frequently). They are efficient, brilliant.

HOW do I read them?
If you’ve ever clicked on an RSS feed icon and seen huge page of nonsense code, you need an RSS feed reader. What readers do is translate that nonsense into digestible, useful, mind-expanding information that normal humans can understand.

Do this. Sign up for a free Google Reader account here reader.google.com. You can browse for feeds, add subscription bundles (like “News” “Fun” “Sports”), or if you have a news site or blog that you like look for an icon like this “” and click on it. Yes, that’s what that little orange thing in the corner is…

Personally, I use Google Reader as my home page in Firefox. I don’t have to remember to go a specific page because it’s already a part of my everyday routine. I open my browser and instantly I have hundreds of sources of inspiration right in front of me. It takes me (maybe) five minutes to read through hundreds of news stories and pertinent articles.

Some more ideas What Can You Do With RSS?

How can you use RSS Feeds increase awareness of your business? Some examples for you and examples of how other companies are using them now, WorkZ, About, and Webpronews. Hmm, that makes sense.

Robert Scoble, a Google Reader power-user talks about how he gets through 600 feeds “…in less time than it takes to say ‘mark all as read’” here.

For further reading,

Are there different kinds of RSS readers? Yes,
1.) Online readers, (Google Reader) if you have consistent internet access.
2.) Standalone reader applications (Newsgator) which is good for feeds that require passwords, like 37 Signal’s BaseCamp Feed for example.
3.) A bunch more listed here, with even more helpful links. More, more!

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Or just update to the latest version of Mac Mail, along with the new notes and to-do lists, they’ve put in an RSS reader too, the Apple News feed is there by default.

Been there done that? Check out Life Hacker’s article Hack Attack: Getting good with Google Reader, or read more on the Official Google Reader Blog.

Oh, and don’t forget to subscribe to the People Design Ideas blog.

So now that you’re in know, what are your favorite feeds?