RSS stands for Really Simply Syndication or Rich Site Summary or RDF Site Summary; RDF standing for Resource Description Framework. RSS is an innovation in information management in the worldwide web. It is actually a tool that allows sites to give a quick summary of important links and descriptions of a web site which is useful for both readers as well as web publishers. It works as a quick guide to review all the contents of a web site rather than spending so much time to hunt related information.

Some distinctive merits of the RSS feeds are as following:

A. It is a good source to get latest update of a web site. Update can be about news, software, music, products, events etc.

B. RSS feeds are inexpensive, a user need not to pay any extra money to subscribe RSS feeds.

C. Compatibility with text, HTML, AOL or even MIME is another advantage of RSS feeds. They will always arrive in a form that your computer is compatible with, so you don't have to worry about not being able to read the information.

D. It saves users surfing time by providing a nippy summary of the web site. A user can get the latest update of a site as soon as it comes out on the internet.

E. It is spam free option to view contents of a web site and the user’s privacy is kept safe from spam mails.

F. The subscription as well as un subscription is really unproblematic in RSS feeds. A user can change the subscription very easily and it needs not to confirm his identity before unsubscribing. It can simply delete the RSS feed from aggregator.

G. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool.

H. It is concise and easy publication.

Along with the above stated advantages, RSS feeds also have some disadvantages too. They are as following:-

A. One major demerit of the RSS feeds is that graphics and photos from the original web site do not display in all RSS feeds.

B. The identity of the source website can be confusing as it does not display the actual URL or name of the site.

C. The RSS feed does not provide any email reminder or update for the latest information.

D. RSS feeds create higher traffic on the server.

E. Some users need detail information rather than concise information about the contents.

F. The people who run the website can’t find out the number of users subscribes to a web site.

G. The publisher cannot know the reason of unsubscription by a user.

H. The technology is new for many people, so it is not known by much of the reader.


So, in the conclusive note I will say that if a user needs a quick glance of the website, he must subscribe to RSS feeds but have to keep its demerits in mind.

Satinder kaur/ITVoir network