What is RSS and what are feeds?

You don't have to keep checking back to any particular site to see if it's been updated - all we need to do is subscribe to the RSS feed (if one is available), much like you would subscribe to a newspaper, and then read the updates from the site, delivered via RSS feeds, in what's called a "feed reader."  Podcasts can also be delivered via RSS.

In a nutshell, you use RSS to syndicate or subscribe to the feed of a website, blog or almost any media content online (not just articles, it can be podcasts, music, video or almost any digital media). By syndicating you subscribe to the feed of the site which means you do not have to go visit the website to read the latest content. Instead you use feed reading software or a website to read the latest articles. You no longer have to go to all of your favorite sites individually. You can collect all the feeds of the sites (if they've been made available) in one place. The purpose of syndication is to save you time and make it more efficient for you to consume your favorite content - when you want.

Admin Note: I use the feed reader built-in to my internet browser. I use Internet Explorer most of the time. The RSS Reader feature is also available in the Mac Safari browser and the Firefox browser. I also use a browser based 'feed reader' for some the subscriptions I read. Both work great and are easy to use. I like the browser based feed reader because I can access those subscriptions from any computer no matter where I am or what computer I'm on - at work, at home or on a laptop on the road. I use Google Reader. I already had a free gmail account so all I had to do was to click on the 'Reader' link and 'subscribe' to the feeds I wanted. It really couldn't be easier. I can read what I want , when I want without having to surf all over the internet to several sites.   -Brandt Domas

Here's a great video about RSS and Feeds that helps explain both topics and can help get you setup and moving forward with feeds.

Atom or RSS - what's up with that?
Atom is an alternative syndication format. that began in June 2003. At that time, within the syndication development community, personality conflicts and debates over who could lay claim to the RSS name or format erupted.The Atom syndication format creation was in part motivated by a desire to get a clean start free of the issues surrounding the RSS debate within the world of the planners and developers of RSS. Since that time, the RSS Advisory Board has moved RSS forward without the early debates. The important news is he feeds that exist within the PDCA website should work fine regardless of which camp you are in.

Want to learn more about RSS? Drop into this rabbit hole.