What the heck is RSS?

RSS works sort of like email updates. When you sign up for email updates on CNN.com, for example, you are telling CNN to send you an email any time a particular sort of article (e.g., an article about "John Edwards," or another about "minimum wage") is published on the site. It works the same way with RSS.

When you sign up for John Edwards for President's RSS updates, the JEFP website will automatically send you a notice each time new content is added to the site. Instead of sending it to your email inbox, it will send the notice to your chosen RSS reader (more about RSS readers below). These notices: (a) tell you that new content has been added to the site, and (b) provide you with a link to the content in case you are interested in seeing it. That way you don't have to scour your favorite websites all the time for new content. The websites send you an RSS notice (aka an "RSS feed") every time that new content has been added, and all you have to do is click on the notice and boom — the new content is at your fingertips.

What is an RSS reader?

An RSS reader is (to continue with the email analogy) the inbox that receives any RSS notices you have signed up for. So, let's say you've signed up for John Edwards for President RSS, the Democratic National Committee RSS, and the MoveOn.org RSS. Every time any one of those sites has new content — a new article, blog post, podcast, whatever — you will get a notice from that website telling you that this new content has been added. When you go to check your RSS reader, you'll see all of your notices in a list, just like email in an inbox. You click on the notices you want to read, and you ignore the notices you don't care to read.

How can I get an RSS reader?

There are many options. In fact, you might already have an RSS reader, but not know it. Some cell phones can serve as RSS readers. Some browsers — e.g., Firefox and Apple Safari — can do it, too.

Perhaps the simplest way is to go to a website that specializes in gathering and distributing RSS notices to its users. One example is "Bloglines". At Bloglines, you can sign up for your own RSS reader (aka an "aggregator"). After going through a very painless registration process, you will be outfitted with your own aggregator. You then tell the aggregator which RSS notices you want to receive — e.g., John Edwards Blog, DNC, MoveOn, etc. From that point forward, your aggregator will receive and store all RSS notices from those sites so that you can view them the next time you visit.

Another option is to download an RSS reader from Pluck. Like Bloglines, the process is very painless, and thanks to their helpful instructions, you'll be up-and-running in no time.

Just remember — your RSS reader is like an email inbox, except instead of receiving email, you're receiving RSS notices from providers (websites, blogs) that you've subscribed to. These notices tell you when new content has been added to your chosen sites, and they provide you with a link to that content in case you are interested in checking it out.

It's very simple and very helpful, and we expect that in the next few years everyone will be using it. So go ahead, give it a shot.