Column: What are online RSS feeds?
Q. I keep hearing about RSS feeds on Web sites. What are they and how can I use them? — A. RSS feeds are a very simple and convenient way to receive updated items from Web sites that you like, so you don't have to go trolling around to each site to see what's new.
Context & Ripple Effects
RSS had already moved beyond a technical acronym into a practical distribution format, with coverage of the RSS standard and online feed readers documenting the tools that collect updates from many sites. The missing piece was usability: industry discussion had highlighted inconsistent subscription methods, while publishers were being pressed to make syndication work without trapping users in proprietary software.
The Associated Press explainer matters because it addresses that adoption barrier directly. RSS lets readers treat updates as a stream they choose rather than repeatedly visiting each publisher’s site.
First-order effects
- Readers can consolidate updates from preferred websites in a feed reader, reducing the need to check individual homepages for new items.
- Publishers that offer clear, usable feeds gain a direct channel into readers’ routines, while poorly signposted subscription options become a distribution disadvantage.
Second-order effects
- Feed-reader providers must compete on making subscription and aggregation simple, because inconsistent RSS discovery is an industry-wide usability problem.
- Website operators face pressure to support open syndication rather than rely solely on proprietary extensions or homepage visits to retain attention.
Third-order effects
- If feed use broadens, publishers’ control over the destination page weakens as readers assemble their own cross-site news and information bundles.
- Open content syndication makes questions over reuse and copyright more consequential, particularly for RSS’s publishing-industry users.
The trend: RSS is part of a shift from destination-based web browsing to user-controlled, interoperable streams of syndicated updates.