RSS at NIH

CIT received tremendous positive feedback regarding the new look of our Web site (see also Interface issue 238 - CIT.NIH.GOV Has a New Look and Totally New Feel…), and we’re happy to announce that more improvements are on the way. Over time, we will be adding new features to the site, so visit often and keep an eye out for additions and changes.

One of the things we are planning to add to the CIT site are Web feeds, also known as RSS feeds. You may not be familiar with the term, but you’ve probably already encountered RSS feeds on some of the Web sites you visit every day. Sites all across the Web offer their visitors subscriptions to RSS feeds, and they advertise them using a little square orange icon, usually next to a “Subscribe” link.

Sometimes the icon shows up in URL address bars or at the bottom of a page, and some sites opt for an orange box that says “XML” or display a blue version, like the NIH homepage does next to its “Subscriptions” link, but all of these signs offer the same thing: RSS feeds

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication, and it is an easy way to get free customized content from various Web sites delivered to you via Web feeds. Web feeds, aka channels, are a way of sharing information online, and RSS is the umbrella term for the formats used for such content distribution. The two main Web feed formats are known as RSS and Atom but Web syndication is collectively referred to as RSS. Basically, to create an RSS feed, a Web site places its content - either the full text or customized elements such as headlines, updates, titles, or summaries - into an XML-based document, along with a link to the originating site, and then makes this document available to feed readers for distribution.

Feed readers, or aggregators, are the programs that connect RSS feeds to users. Users subscribe to the feeds of those Web sites they find interesting or useful (news sites, weather information, eBay, online shopping sites, blogs, etc.). Then the feed reader employed by the user not only stores and displays the subscribed Web feeds but also automatically checks the feeds for updates.

What makes Web feeds (RSS) so useful?

Web feeds allow you to stay up-to-date with a wide range of online information without having to repeatedly revisit the individual sites. Rather than bookmarking Web sites of interest and returning occasionally to check for changes, you can now subscribe to a site’s feed, and any updates to that site (or even to a specific data set) will come to you – either to your feed reader or even to a folder in your Outlook program.

Most Web feeds come from news Web sites, such as CNN.com, online newspapers, and blogs, but subscribers can also find feeds to keep tabs on NIH IC news and press releases, current weather data, new songs on iTunes, search results, books at Amazon, items offered in eBay auctions, and software upgrades from companies like Microsoft or Adobe, to name just a few possibilities.

What has fueled the popularity of RSS feeds is that, unlike email which “pushes” out content from the provider, Web feeds “pull” content to the subscriber, thus giving the user full control of the process. Users seek out the sites of interest to them, and select which feeds to subscribe to. You are not required to give out any personal information. So, Web feeds sidestep the spam problem entirely because the user’s email address is not involved in subscribing to a feed. In addition, unsubscribing from Web feeds is very easy, and completely removes the feed from your reader forever.

This also benefits content providers, who can easily tailor different feeds to match the interests of different audiences, thus guaranteeing an interested audience for every feed subscription. Publishers know they are targeting the right audience because that audience elected to subscribe to a specific feed, and feed subscribers get only the content that interests them. At the same time, certain available programs allow publishers to track the number of subscribers to a feed, which helps publishers gauge the popularity and effectiveness of the information they offer.

How do I start using RSS feeds?

In order to subscribe to and read RSS feeds, you first have to choose a program called a feed reader to collect and display RSS feeds from Web sites you select. Feed readers are also referred to as news readers, aggregators, or RSS readers. A feed reader periodically checks designated Web sites for new content and then delivers these updates to you in one display window, similar to your own personal and customized inbox for online content.

Most feed readers offer a selection of pre-packaged feed bundles covering popular categories such as news, sports, fun, etc. to subscribe to directly from the reader program. This makes it easy to begin subscribing to feeds and also provides an overview of the available choices. Usually, readers also offer search and browse functions to make locating specific Web sites’ feeds easier, as well as category searches for those who do not already have a specific site in mind. There are specialized searches to add blogs to your feed subscription and different readers offer different customization options.

If you come across a Web site you want to keep tabs on and it offers an RSS feed, subscribing is simple:

•	Just locate the RSS icon or the RSS “Subscribe” link and click on it. This should open a page listing the URLs (usually ending in .XML) of available feeds, sometime organized by category (see for example the RSS feed index pages at the Washington Post or CNN).
•	Copy the URL of the feed you want and paste it into the “Add Subscription” area in your feed reader. Depending on what reader you use, some sites will allow you to add a new feed just by clicking on an “Add to [My Reader]” button.

What kinds of RSS readers are available?

There are several kinds of feed readers to choose from, and most of them are available free of charge. If you use an online portal site like My Yahoo! or My MSN, look for built-in RSS features already available. Newer Web browsers and email programs may also offer RSS reader options, and Windows Vista has integrated RSS support. In general, RSS readers are either Web-based or software-based; and there are now feed readers able to automatically download media files (like mp3s) as well as readers called RSS-narrators that collect text-only news feeds and then convert these into audio files that users can listen to while offline.

Web-based feed readers are usually located on remote servers and run on your browser much like online email accounts (Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.), allowing you to check your feed subscriptions from any computer with a Web connection. Examples of these feed readers include Google Reader, Bloglines, My Yahoo, and similar applications.

Instead of using a browser-based RSS reader, you can also download and install a software RSS reader onto your local computer, where it organizes and stores feeds the way MS Outlook groups and stores downloaded email messages. The display windows of such reader programs are often similar in design to the interface of most popular email programs, making them familiar to most users. Examples of software-based RSS readers include such programs as RSS Reader, Feed Demon, and Newz Crawler.

Both types of RSS readers generally offer a tagging option that lets you assign categories or groups to feeds and then filter them accordingly. Categorizing feeds and sorting them into folders helps to organize them and gives you a better overview of the incoming information.

Picking a feed reader

Both Web-based and software-based RSS readers have their drawbacks and advantages, and what works for one person may not work for someone else. There are many Web sites that offer lengthy lists of available readers, conveniently organized by type of reader, compatible computer system, etc. Some sites even offer reviews and helpful tips for choosing the right reader.

If you are not sure what type of feed reader you might need, try out a few of the ones available free of charge and see what you are most comfortable with. To find RSS reader listings, just search for a variation on the term, such as RSS aggregators, feed readers, news readers, RSS readers or find the lists offered by search sites such as Google, Yahoo, or even Wikipedia.

Need help?

If you want more information about RSS feeds, there are several helpful sites dedicated to explaining the concept. At NIH for example, the National Human Genome Research Institute offers a useful introduction to RSS feeds that covers the basics without being confusing, and the W3 School site offers an entire RSS tutorial free of charge. And of course, as always, you can ask the NIH Help Desk for support at 301-496-4357, 866-319-4357 (toll free), or 301-496-8294 (TTY).