What are RSS Feeds?
RSS feeds allow you to see when websites have added new content. You can get the latest jobs in one place, as soon as they are published, without having to visit the websites you have taken the feed from.
Feeds are also known as RSS. There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people plump for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.
How do I start using RSS feeds?
In general, the first thing you need is something called an RSS reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser (for example Internet Explorer 7), and some of which are downloadable applications.
Browser-based RSS readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.
Once you have chosen a news reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive. For example if you want to get the latest jobs in Ireland by RSS, go to this page and select your industry sector of choice, and subscribe to the feed for free.
If you click on the RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the feed into your news reader or by cutting and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your news reader. Most sites that offer feeds use a similar orange button, but some may just have a normal web link.
Some browsers, including Microsoft Internet Explorer 7, Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one. This can make subscribing to feeds much easier. For more details on these, please check their websites.
How do I get an RSS reader?
There is a range of different RSS readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.
Different news readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer.
RSS READERS SUGGESTIONS
Windows
Mac OS X
Browser
Mozilla Firefox
Internet Explorer 7
Other News Readers (GOOGLE)
