Really Simple Syndication

RSS readers are used by many people on the internet. I use Google Reader for my journalism class, and it has become very helpful for me to keep updated on news around the world.

RSS readers are web feeds that are published and updated frequently such as blogs, forums, news headlines, video, and audio. I am able to subscribe to many different news sources such as the The Des Moines Register, The New York Times, and even my hometown paper from Albia, Union Republican.

RSS stands for really simple syndication. I find this very true to its name because it is very simple to use. All I have to do is click on a news link I find interesting, and it takes me straight to the article.

Things like this can be very helpful for future journalists. Instead of surfing the internet to find your favorite news sites, blog writers, or forums you can create your RSS reader to fit you. All of the articles that you are interested in can be all in one feed. This is very convenient and saves a great amount of time.

Many bloggers and news sites have an icon on their homepage that makes adding them to your news feed even more convenient.

RSS readers are frequently called feed, web feed, or channel. Some basic RSS readers include Google Reader, Bloglines, Feed Demon, NetNewsWire, and Straw. I use Google Reader because I am able to search through articles when I am checking my e-mail account.

I think everyone should use RSS feeds. They not only help you keep up with the news, but they also are very convenient.

Photo Credit: Ben Miller, via Creative Commons

Read more...

The Abandoned RSS Feed

As media evolves, journalists must also retrieve information in new, innovative ways. Sites such as Twitter and Facebook are becoming more widely used in the journalism world. Unfortunately, for RSS feeds this means major competition and Twitter is winning.

IAC was forced to shut down its RSS feed, Bloglines, on Friday, September 10th, after owning the information service for only five years.

According to the article "The Death of the RSS Reader" by Joseph Tartakoff, "Bloglines’ shut down was likely inevitable whether IAC had taken better care of it or not, as people have shifted away from RSS readers over the last two years."

Of course it is well known to where the shift has been made. Journalists are moving to Twitter and Facebook because of their accuracy and immediacy for updates in news.

Journalists are able to track down the information they need as well as distribute it as they see fit. This is, in essence, what it means to be a journalist. With real-time news feeds, it is easier for people in every part of the world to share their news.

The reason for dying RSS feeds is not that they are innaccurate or out-of-date, but rather that they provide only news tracking options and lack the highly important news sharing capabilities.

"Recent moves with Google Reader seem to indicate that it too believes that it needs to be more than a straight RSS reader to be successful," Tartakoff said. "Users can now “follow” people who publicly share items via Google Reader and also flag items that they “like.”

By adding these features, Google Reader has made itself more interactive for the consumer and provided means for sharing the news that one would typically find on the site.

In essence, the RSS feed has not been left behind because customers are unsatisfied with the news it brings, it is merely a lack of attention to journalists' increasing needs.

Read more...