RSS = Really Simply Syndication.
An RSS "feed" is really just an XML-structured file that conforms to certain structural rules. So "feed" is a strong word. It's really just a file. If you open one in a text editor, you can read it.. Browsers like Firefox will structure the XML for you so it's easier to read.
What is the RSS Feed For? Well, it's a convention that has been widely accepted to promote the easy exchange of information between platforms running different operating systems. In other words, since it is clear-text XML, an Apache server running PHP can digest an RSS file from a Windows server running .net. Same can be said for Java, Perl, ColdFusion, etc. This is the universal part. All of those languages have some form of XML parser built into them. So developers on those platforms use the XML structure to exchange data. I could go on, but it's too technical.
So in RSS, the data people are exchanging is generally a news story or blog entry. I believe RSS started for news. The convention came from news sites wanting to syndicate their news stories as fast and broadly as possible. As that caught on, people started using it in blogging platforms. Wordpress, LiveJournal, Blogger.com, etc. Now it's everywhere. And honestly, you can put whatever you want in them. RSS doesn't care what's inside the file. Again - It's just a data exchange structure.
The idea is that if a reader is at your site and they like your stuff, they can "subscribe" to your RSS feed. That's why you see those RSS buttons everywhere. This means they add your RSS feed to either their browser or some feed aggregation / feed reader service they are using. Their feed reader refreshes the RSS feed from the sites they have "subscribed to" every now and again. Since the RSS publisher refreshes their RSS file with every new blog entry / news story / whatever, you get new content without ever having to go back to the site to get it. Make sense?
RSS is mainly a convenience for readers. So advantage 1 for you is that you will gain a following of people who may have otherwise left your site and never returned. If they "subscribe", they will get future updates without having to come back to the site. Many people only publish the first paragraph of an entry in their feed as a way to hook the reader but make them link through to the site for more.
Advantage 2: SEO. Many of the RSS aggregation sites on the web will render your RSS as HTML on their domain. Almost all RSS feeds include hyperlinks back to the original story. Thus, your RSS feed can actually generate backlinks for you when submitted to the right syndication points. The pages are instantly relevant because it's your content on those pages. Some claim that this represents duplicate content and it not good, but I disagree. I've tracked these links and they help. Additionally, if you read Google's blog, they specifically recommend linking back to the original source when syndicating. So this seems to be okay by Google.
I'm sure there are more advantages, but I need to have my coffee first.
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An RSS "feed" is really just an XML-structured file that conforms to certain structural rules. So "feed" is a strong word. It's really just a file. If you open one in a text editor, you can read it.. Browsers like Firefox will structure the XML for you so it's easier to read.
What is the RSS Feed For? Well, it's a convention that has been widely accepted to promote the easy exchange of information between platforms running different operating systems. In other words, since it is clear-text XML, an Apache server running PHP can digest an RSS file from a Windows server running .net. Same can be said for Java, Perl, ColdFusion, etc. This is the universal part. All of those languages have some form of XML parser built into them. So developers on those platforms use the XML structure to exchange data. I could go on, but it's too technical.
So in RSS, the data people are exchanging is generally a news story or blog entry. I believe RSS started for news. The convention came from news sites wanting to syndicate their news stories as fast and broadly as possible. As that caught on, people started using it in blogging platforms. Wordpress, LiveJournal, Blogger.com, etc. Now it's everywhere. And honestly, you can put whatever you want in them. RSS doesn't care what's inside the file. Again - It's just a data exchange structure.
The idea is that if a reader is at your site and they like your stuff, they can "subscribe" to your RSS feed. That's why you see those RSS buttons everywhere. This means they add your RSS feed to either their browser or some feed aggregation / feed reader service they are using. Their feed reader refreshes the RSS feed from the sites they have "subscribed to" every now and again. Since the RSS publisher refreshes their RSS file with every new blog entry / news story / whatever, you get new content without ever having to go back to the site to get it. Make sense?
RSS is mainly a convenience for readers. So advantage 1 for you is that you will gain a following of people who may have otherwise left your site and never returned. If they "subscribe", they will get future updates without having to come back to the site. Many people only publish the first paragraph of an entry in their feed as a way to hook the reader but make them link through to the site for more.
Advantage 2: SEO. Many of the RSS aggregation sites on the web will render your RSS as HTML on their domain. Almost all RSS feeds include hyperlinks back to the original story. Thus, your RSS feed can actually generate backlinks for you when submitted to the right syndication points. The pages are instantly relevant because it's your content on those pages. Some claim that this represents duplicate content and it not good, but I disagree. I've tracked these links and they help. Additionally, if you read Google's blog, they specifically recommend linking back to the original source when syndicating. So this seems to be okay by Google.
I'm sure there are more advantages, but I need to have my coffee first.
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