RSS "pulls" information from dynamic webpages whose content often changes. Prime examples are online news and blogs, but it can include discussion boards, search results, public bookmarks, photos, and even video. Instead of reading the headlines that major portal sites like Naver or Yahoo "feed" you, you can feed yourself by subscribing to only the news and information you want. If you're interested in the future of hybrid cars, for example, why go through the Auto or Technology section of The New York Times everyday or wade through thousands of links from search results, when you can get the latest news and reviews about hybrid cars delivered straight to your RSS reader?
Internet Explorer 7 comes with a feed reader built in. If you only use your home computer, you might as well just use that. But if you want the freedom to read your feeds on any computer, you need a web-based RSS reader. Google Reader comes highly recommended. In addition to a clean user interface, it boast many features such as the ability to tag, email, and "re-publish" interesting posts. (Bloglines still has an easier way of ordering and renaming folders, though.) I guess HanRSS is the standard Korean counterpart - you can see a demo with pre-populated feeds by clicking on "서비스 둘러보기."
Getting started is easy. You just sign up for an account, find some interesting blogs, subscribe by clicking on the RSS logo, and sit back and enjoy reading. It's fast, it's convenient, and it's addictive for information junkies. In fact, it can be overwhelming at times. I have over a hundred feeds that are updated with varying frequency, and though I spend an average of two hours a day, I'm always behind on my reading. Perhaps 50 is a more managable number of feeds.
Besides blogs and news, here's random list of feeds you can subscribe to:
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