RSS Overview

What is RSS?

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is an Internet technology which allows subscribing to content from multiple Internet sources and viewing them from one place. Many news sites, blogs, and podcasts employ RSS technology.

RSS is a great convenience for users who would otherwise have to visit multiple websites to check for newly added content. The City of Cedar Rapids added RSS service to our City News for the convenience of such users.

How do I take advantage of this service?

You can subscribe to and view RSS feeds through an aggregator. There are several different types of aggregators:

- Built into the latest version of your web browser (such as IE7, Firefox)
- Downloaded to your desktop and installed (such as FeedReader)
- Online service (such as Google Reader)
- Especially designed for mobile devices (varies for each mobile device)

Why is your RSS page displaying strangely formatted code?

RSS Feeds are written in XML (EXtensible Markup Language), and need to be interpreted through an aggregator. If you are seeing XML code you may be using an outdated version of a web browser. See above to learn how to view RSS Feeds. For more information see this Wikipedia entry.