RSS stands for either Rich Site Summary, or Really Simple Syndication, depending on who you ask. Whatever you call it, RSS is a formatting tool that publishes often updated website content to a feed reader, where the user can see news headlines, blog posts, or other online media summarized for easier viewing. If you are something of a news junkie, or if there are a lot of blogs that you like to keep up on, then you are probably already familiar with RSS as a fantastic way for you to get all the latest updates in one place.
If RSS is something entirely alien to you, then it is about time that you considered how the various RSS feeds for websites could make your life easier. Even if you are unconcerned with the latest headlines, or if you have never read a blog in your life, there are plenty of other ways that an RSS feed can keep you connected. Here are three fascinating ways that RSS for websites can be harnessed.
1. Learn all about our universe.
NASA provides an astronomy picture of the day feed that you can subscribe to. If you have even a mild interest in the stars, planets, and celestial bodies that make up our universe, then I highly recommend this feed. The pictures are incredible, and a small blurb written by a scientist accompanies each photo so that you can understand what you are looking at.
2. Find more time to read a book.
Most RSS feeds for websites just send you updated content. The feed offered by the Daily Lit will do something entirely different. All you have to do is pick one of the books they have available, subscribe to it, and they will send you short chunks to read as often or as rarely as you like!
3. Find a job.
RSS feeds for websites like Monster and Career Builder are a great way to keep an eye on new job openings. The RSS feed for websites that specialize in delivering job openings can sometimes, depending on the site, be customized further. When you are looking for a job and you know that some fields are never going to be worth applying to, it can be very frustrating to waste time sifting through jobs that you are not interested in. Check with the site to see how your RSS feed can be personalized to save you time and help you find the right job, faster.
Of course, you can always just find RSS for websites that you would normally check on a daily basis, and instead let your feed reader do the work to aggregate and summarize that content for easier viewing, but where is the fun in that? You will be more likely to get enjoyment from your RSS feeds if you throw in a few unusual subscriptions.