RSS (Real-time Syndicated Service), is one of the most underutilised features in Internet communications. Just imagine if you could receive organised yet real-time updates on, websites, blogs, newsfeeds, Twitter/ Youtube/whatever accounts without having to visit dozens of sites.

Here are some befits for consuming information via RSS:

• Validate any information published by you and other employees across multiple websites and social media channels
• Become proactive in the competition's communications. Gain intelligence yourself rather than being told by the intern.
• A holistic view allows easier identification of communications issues. E.g. Frequency discrepancies Tone / Sentiment / Jargon / Acronym / Branding discrepancies Neglected or saturated audiences and market segments
• If you like a particular web article, subscribe to it via RSS to receive future updates.

BECOME CENTRALISED:

Lets look at how I consumed my online information before I started using RSS. As you can see, I had a lot of websites to visit and several channels to visit on each. By sourcing web content like this, hours could be wasted finding relevant content!

Prior to Using RSS

Using RSS

By using RSS the information becomes centralised and directed towards you.

What does RSS look like?

An RSS feed or channel can be broken down into articles. An RSS article will look different depending on what program or online tool is used. However, and RSS article will always contain the following:

• Title
• Content
• Publish date and time

HOW TO START USING RSS?

RSS is a widespread feature in many programs and online tools. Put all the bells and whistles aside, an RSS feed is always accessed via a URL. For example, the RSS URL for Windfery's World ishttp://feeds.feedburner.com/WindferysWorld

Choosing where to read RSS from

RSS is similar to email clients as there are email programs such as Outlook and web based options like Hotmail and Gmail.

Program Options:

If you do most of your work from a single PC then you could add RSS feeds to your email client such as Outlook or Firebird. Popular tutorials are:

• Adding RSS to Outlook 2007
• Firebird
• Mozilla Firefox
• Internet Explorer

Web Based Options:

If you need something more portable then several online RSS readers are available such as Google Reader. This means you can save your favorite RSS feeds to your online reader and access them across the web.

This article from Pandia is a good start for choosing your online reader.

How to find RSS channels

Unfortunately, the method to add Social Media RSS feeds to your reader will vary depending on the source. To help you out, some I've found some popular online tutorials to make you and RSS pimp! For information on how to add RSS feeds from other websites, refer to the Firefox and Outlook tutorials.

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube

Some browsers such as Firefox display an RSS icon in the right side of the URL if a site has an RSS feed.

FLY MY PRETTIES!

There's your crash course in the benefits of using RSS. By working smarter in the way you source information, you will remain informed on topics that appeal to you whilst using the intern as an office ottoman.

Source : http://www.windfery.com/2010/05/why-does-rss-matter-to-you.html