NOTE: This is part 4 of a 12-part CONTENTIOUS tutorial, What Are Webfeeds (RSS), and Why Should You Care? (Full table of contents available on that main page.)
To read webfeeds (often called RSS feeds), you need a software tool called a feed reader (also called a news reader or an aggregator). Your feed reader maintains a list of your favorite webfeeds, checks them regularly for updates, and displays their contents.
Here are the basics you need to know about feed readers…
For each webfeed that you subscribe to, your feed reader will check that feed and list all the latest headlines (and summaries, if available) from that site, in order by date and time. This allows you to quickly scan a list of new content from that site, then move on to scan what’s listed on other feeds, very quickly and effectively.
Here’s what that looks like in my favorite feed reader, FeedDemon.
There are four basic kinds of feed readers:
- Stand-alone software applications, such as Amphetadesk or NetNewsWire
- Web-based services, such as Bloglines
- Plug-ins or extensions for existing popular programs, such as Pluck (which works with Internet Explorer). There’s also an extension for Mozilla’s Firefox browser called Sage (my personal favorite).
- Web browsers with built-in feed readers, such as Opera 7.50.
Feed readers are available for every kind of computer platform and operating system. They offer a wide range of features and interfaces. Most are inexpensively priced, and many others are free. I recommend trying out a few to find the one that suits you best.
Also, this Online Journalism Review article by JD Lasica includes detailed reviews of several of the best feed readers and related online productivity tools.
If you’re brand new to webfeeds, or if you can’t or don’t want to install software on your computer, or if you often use public Internet access terminals, I recommend starting out by opening a free account at Bloglines. This is a pretty good (and free) Web-based feed reader service that’s fairly easy to use. To see what it’s like, check out my list of favorite feeds on Bloglines.
Right now, after much deliberation and experimentation, Bloglines is currently my preferred webfeed reader. Here’s why.
If you liked my post, feel free to subscribe to my rss feeds
BlogoSquare
One Comment