RSS has two meanings depending on who you ask: Real Simple Syndication and Rich Site Summary. However, in the end the results are the same. RSS provides a way for you to subscribe to information placed in a “feed”. RSS sites are becoming very common and can be found in many places. Most news sites are now providing their current content in the form of an RSS feed. RSS feeds are also starting to show up in peer reviewed journals. The list is growing every day so you will want to check your favorite sites and journals regularly for new feed services.

RSS is also common in the blogging community. You can use this technology to subscribe to your favorite blogs. Most blogs can be syndicated which is to say, you can receive new postings as an RSS feed. Other related technologies include blogging, podcasting, vlogging (video blogging) and wikis. All of these applications belong to an emerging group of technology known as social software. The included tech brief on RSS will provide additional information on the world of RSS.