How would you like to create your own personal newspaper that automatically compiles just the news and current awareness information you want to see without having to visit multiple websites? With RSS--Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary--you can do exactly that, and more. Instead of visiting websites to get daily news, blogs and commentary, court opinions, or court orders, rely on your RSS feeds to deliver your materials, just like the morning paper.

There are a few basics in getting started with RSS. First, you need a feed reader. Just like a web browser (i.e. Internet Explorer) renders HTML code to show you a webpage, a feed reader renders the XML code that the RSS "feed" is based on. Next, pick your feeds. Most blogs, many news sites, government sites, and some courts offer feeds. Once you get the hang of it, you'll know where to look; you can also explore RSS directories and search engines for feeds. Then just follow the simple instructions and voila--you've created your own personal newspaper.

Feed readers, like any application, vary widely. Some are super simple, like MyYahoo! or iGoogle, and only show new headlines for a certain period of time and with limits on how many headlines will be shown. Online feed readers, such as Bloglines, Google Reader, or Newsgator offer more features in handling feeds, and are available to you wherever you can get on the Internet. Software, such as Newzcrawler and Feed Demon, offers more sophistication in handling and archiving feeds.

There are RSS feeds for news, blogs, podcasts and videos. Discussion forums now offer RSS feeds to alert you when new posts are available. Document sharing and collaboration sites, such as Google Docs, allow users to subscribe to feeds that show the latest changes to the document. Lawyers will find that many of the e-mail newsletters they subscribe to are now available as feeds. Many things are now available as feeds, so get started with your RSS set-up today!

For more information see: FYI: RSS