You may have seen this image: more and more often on some websites, including this one. With the rise of weblogs (blogging) and the related software it has become the essential function on a site to ensure that more people get to read the text without having to actually visiting the website in question....

From Webreference.com - an explanation of the history and exactly what is RSS:

"Want more traffic? An easy way to distribute your news? Then you need an RSS news feed. To start all you need is content you want broadcast, and one RSS text file.

Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content. Think of it as a distributable "What's New" for your site. Originated by UserLand in 1997 and subsequently used by Netscape to fill channels for Netcenter, RSS has evolved into a popular means of sharing content between sites (including the BBC, CNET, CNN, Disney, Forbes, Motley Fool, Wired, Red Herring, Salon, Slashdot, ZDNet, and more). RSS solves myriad problems webmasters commonly face, such as increasing traffic, and gathering and distributing news. RSS can also be the basis for additional content distribution services."

There are many options to view/read RSS Feeds - When you sign into My Yahoo or My MSN there is an option to add a RSS feed from any website that has one. But our preferred and recommended start page for feed reading is the Netvibes.

There are many other websites that offer the same service, see the related links at the end of the article.

Another alternative is to download some software and then add the feeds via them. Best of the bunch are: Feedreader or Pluck .

Related Links: 

 Wikipedia > RSS

XML.com > What is RSS ? 

 Google Reader

Bloglines

Newsgator

Rocketinfo RSS Reader