The Beginner’s Guide to RSS – Part Two
For a gentle introduction to RSS, read Part One.
So, you’ve decided you want to try RSS, now what?
The easiest way to read subscriptions is through a piece of software called a Reader (better name than RSS, eh?) There are lots of free ones available, although most people use Google Reader. Once you’re set up it takes less than ten seconds to add, order and remove various subscriptions.
You’re not obliged to stay with google or with any of your subscriptions, so the best way of finding out whether you like it is to play around with it.
But first you need to set it up.
A) Get a free google account if you don’t already have one.
1) Go to Create a Google Account
2) Enter your email address and create a password
3) If you’re using a public computer then uncheck the “Stay Signed In” box. Personally I also uncheck the “Enable Web History” as well.
4) Read and agree to the terms and conditions.
5) Log in to your email and click the activation link. This should eventually take you to the log in page.
6) Log in using the details you entered in step 2.
You’re in! Now a google account has lots of toys, but for now we’re going to ignore all those and just look for the reader.
B) Choose the RSS you want to subscribe to.
I’m going to suggest this one (of course!) but you can use any orange RSS picture.
1) Click on the RSS icon (orange box towards the top right of the screen).
2) Click on the box that says ‘Google.’
3) Click on “Add to Google Reader” (Log in again if you need to)
You’ll then see an example of what your Reader looks like, and what the material from this site will look like in your Reader.
4) Click on the “Subscribe” box.
Success! Now play around with your options.
Any questions on subscribing via RSS? If so, pop them in the comment boxes below or let me know by using the contact form.
Now that you’ve subscribed by RSS you can get back to the real matter at hand. Planning your next weekend break…