You have probably seen the little orange RSS or XML buttons on many websites and wondered what those thingies are.

These are really cool.


When you subscribe, the latest and greatest news will be sent directly to you, and you will not have to visit the website yourself just to see what has just been posted.  It's like having a really well-connected friend giving you updates on the news.

"RSS" means "Really Simple Syndication." This is not important to know, but it is a neat bit of trivia you can pass on to your friends.

So, how do you get these updates (feeds)?

First a choice:

Would you rather have the updates delivered to your email or to a RSS Reader?

Email:  
You may be very comfortable with email.  If you choose this options, it is very simple.  Every time there is an update in my website, you will be sent an email with a digest version of the page.  Simple. Easy.  But... sometimes it can clutter up your email folders and make you want to pull your hair out with all the emails you may receive.

RSS Reader:
The other option is to use a Reader.  This is a separate program that just receives feeds.  You have all your feeds in one place, and when you are ready to read them, you go there.  Nice.  Like taking a good book to the comfy chair.  But of course, if you don't remember to check your reader, you won't see your feeds.

It's really up to you.  I prefer using email for my most favorite feeds, and use a reader for the ones I only want to catch up on once in a while.

Receiving RSS

The Email Option:

Fill out your email address in the following Feedburner box.

The RSS Reader Option:

First you need to get the reader software.  Here you have 2 options (of course).

You can have your reader program on your computer or use an on-line reader.

---A Reader on your Computer:

Go to the appropriate website and download the program:

Windows -- RssReader
http://www.rssreader.com/

Mac -- NetNewsWire
http://ranchero.com/netnewswire/

Once you're set up, here's all you have to do...

Right-click (control-click for Mac users) on any orange RSS button on a site, blog or news source that interests you. Start by right-clicking on the orange button below. Then...

Select Copy Shortcut ("Copy Link to Clipboard" for Mac, "Copy Link Location" for Firefox browsers), and paste that URL into your RSS Reader.

And that's it! You're subscribed.

---On-line Reader:

Subscribe through My Yahoo!, My MSN or Google Reader (there are many other readers but these are the big boys).

Add stress-free-mama.com RSS to your "My Yahoo!"

Add stress-free-mama.com to your "My MSN"

Add stress-free-mama.com to your "Google Reader"