RSS (Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication)

RSS is a way of distributing content information (usually blog/news headlines) as XML format. RSS is also referred to as RDF (Resource Description Framework). Now what‘s XML? It is a flexible text format. This XML file is called an RSS feed. This feed contains information as designated by the site's owner. RSS is used to distribute content to whoever wants it. By requesting the appropriate RSS feed, an end user can quickly find out the latest information posted on a website. An aggregator accumulates RSS feeds for you, and distributes that information to you as you want.
In the end, RSS is about distributing content quickly and easily. It also increases efficiency - instead of having to visit a site every day, by using RSS, you can automate the process and be notified when an update occurs.

How RSS works?

Example 1:

Your name is Mr. Joe, and you are a fan of five different blogs. You also end up wasting a lot of time visiting these blogs. So you turn to an RSS feed aggregator, and add their RSS feeds. Now, once a day (or however often you want), the reader will check the RSS feeds for each site, and notify you when there is an update.

Example 2:

Your name is Mr. Joe, and you live in Britain. You have a little website, and would like to have the latest sporting news on your website. You of course do not have time, so you turn to BBC, and use their sports RSS feed to incorporate sports news into your website.
In order to make life easier for you, each blog entry includes quick links to RSS subscriptions for the most popular tools. This way, while browsing our directory, you can simply click and easily subscribe to a feed.