RSS (Really Simple Syndication) lets web publishers distribute information to web users, and lets web users collect this information from many different sources across the Internet. By using a special RSS "aggregator," or reader, you can subscribe to free "feeds" that include headlines, summaries, links, and even audio files and photos, from web sites that interest you. A feed is posted in a format called XML, which is displayed by the RSS reader according to the preferences you determine. When you see the
or
symbols on a web page, it means there's an RSS feed available.
You can browse RSS feeds in a manner similar to reading incoming e-mail messages, and then click a link to see more information about an individual item. You can also build an RSS aggregator into your own web site or blog, so that you can automatically present fresh content to people reading your site.
For example, the following are available as an RSS feed. You can use your RSS reader to subscribe to
Latest News http://www.alexandriava.gov/rss/news.php DASH Bus Press Releases http://www.alexandriava.gov/rss/dash.php and receive headlines and press releases from the City as soon as they're posted. You can also make these feeds a part of your own web site, so that you can share them with your neighbors, customers, clients, friends, family, or anyone else who visits your site.
Over the next few months, we'll be debuting several types of RSS feeds. RSS is one more way the City of Alexandria is using technology to make it easier for you to access information and services. We hope you find it useful, and we'd love to hear your feedback.
For much more information about RSS, including links to aggregators, visit Yahoo and Wikipedia.
