I realized that I mention RSS on this site, but never actually explained what it is. For those of you who don’t know what it is, here is a brief explanation.
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication.” The purpose of RSS is to have information come to you, as opposed to having to search for it. This is extremely efficient as you can pull in RSS feeds from multiple places, and view the latest articles all in one place! Sound awesome? Check out how to do it below!
FIND AN RSSÂ AGGREGATOR:
Probably the easiest aggregator to use is Google Reader. If you already have a Gmail or iGoogle account, you already have access to this application. If not, go to iGoogle and set up an account. This will give you access to multiple Google applications – most of which are very useful – including Google Reader. To get into Google Reader, simply log into iGoogle, go to the top of the page and click on the Reader link (if it is not listed, click on the more tab and find it in the drop-down menu.)
ADD A SUBSCRIPTION:
Once you log into Google and launch Google Reader, the process is quite simple. On the upper left corner of the screen directly under the Google logo, there will be a button entitled, “Add a Subscription”. Â Click this button. A box will pop up requesting a website address. Simply type in the address of the site you want to subscribe to and click “Add”. The feeds from the site you just added will appear in the large panel to the center/right of the screen.
SHORTCUTS:
There is a much shorter way to add an RSS Feed to a particular website to Google Reader. This will vary a bit according to your web browser. I’ll deal with the two most popular – Internet Explorer and Google Chrome.
Internet Explorer: In order to add a feed the easy way in Internet Explorer, take notice to the address bar. If you are on a site where it is possible to subscribe to an RSS Feed, the RSS symbol (an orange box with a white “signal” symbol inside) will appear in the far right of the address bar. Simply click this symbol, choose which aspect of the site you want to subscribe to, select Google Reader, and click add. This will add the feed to your account, allowing you to see it in Google Reader.
Google Chrome: The process for Google Chrome is very similar to that of Internet Explorer. The big difference here is that you must add the RSS extension to be able to see the symbol in your address bar! To add an extension, click the Customize and Control button (the picture of a wrench), and click Extensions. Under this, click “Get More Extensions” at the bottom of the page. Then, search for “RSS Subscription Extension (by Google)” and install it. Once this is installed, the RSS symbol should appear in your address bar, and then you can follow the instructions listed above for Internet Explorer.
Want some practice? Try subscribing to the RSS for some of these sites!
FutureMusicEducators (this site)
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Andrew Ritenour is a junior Music Education major at Grove City College in Grove City, PA. He is actively involved in many performing ensembles including brass quintets, concert bands, marching bands, and choirs. Andy plays Tuba and Euphonium and is the Brass/Marching Instructor for the Somerset Area HS Marching Band. You can find him on twitter at @andrewritenour. 