The ABC's of RSS

It can be difficult to stay abreast of and completely comprehend emerging communication tools. As one of our colleagues pointed out recently, if you don’t educate yourself on a trend quite early, it becomes almost unmentionable to admit you haven’t mastered it. In the interests of lifting this taboo, we have a confession. Until we recently researched it, one of the tools we found particularly confusing was RSS. RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is an application used to publish (or access) frequently updated online content, including Websites, Blogs and Podcasts. In a nutshell, RSS can be used to dramatically simplify the searching and scrounging involved in staying aware of specific trends and topics.

The key element you’ll need to harness the potential of this technology is some kind of RSS reader. Having sampled a few, we highly recommend Google Reader. After creating a Google Reader account (if you already have a Google or Gmail account, you can simply sign in using your password), click on Browse to access any number of subscription News and Blog feeds. Once you have subscribed, the most recent articles or Blog entries from each media source will automatically upload to your Google Reader, allowing you to effortlessly stay on top of Social Media developments, Corporate Communications theories or any other topic you’re passionate about! Keep in mind that media that offer significant online content (including Blogs, Newspapers, Magazines and TV Networks) also tend to post RSS feeds. Once you have a Google Reader account, click on the RSS Icon (this may be an orange square containing a white spectrum or simply a click-through labeled RSS) on the webpage you’d like to add and follow the instructions. Fortune Magazine, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star all offer this service, as do a number of prominent Blogs (including ours)!

Though RSS has a number of significant benefits, beginning with efficient and personalized access to updated information, we’d be remiss it we didn’t cover some of the potential pratfalls of the technology. Perhaps the most common problem associated with RSS is information overload. The best way to avoid being overwhelmed by RSS updates is check your Google Reader account often, unsubscribe to feeds you find tedious and use Google’s ‘Mark as read’ button to ensure old content is no longer presented as new.

RSS may not actually be ‘really simple’ to get started on, but it is certainly an information search tool worth examining. As a professional communicator, a RSS reader can help you more efficiently access the information you need to stay current and informed.

Links:
RSS - A Definition
Google Reader
Google
Gmail
Celebrity gossip - Just for the fun of it!
Fortune Magazine RSS Feeds
The Globe and Mail RSS Feeds
The Toronto Star RSS Feeds