RSS is a web technology that makes keeping up with all of your favorite web sites easier. Wikipedia has a good explanation (Super Geeky). Here is a simpler explanation (Geeky). If you are reading this and are unfamiliar with RSS the best way to understand may be by watching this short video.
I personally use Google Reader to keep up with all of my RSS feeds. While many feed readers are online services (you have to be online and sign in) there are many desktop programs that can handle RSS feeds and may already be on your computer. For example, Apple's Mail program will let you subscribe to feeds without using a web browser or signing up for a service. One of the advantages of using an online service is portability. It doesn't matter who's computer you are on, you can log into your feed reader and get your updates. This is one of the ways that I live without newspaper delivery to my front door. I simply subscribe to my preferred news site and the headlines show up in my reader. I can quickly scan and decide what I want to read. If you find yourself spending a lot of time looking at your favorite blogs, news websites or even facebook, an RSS reader may save you time. If you like, you can even subscribe to this site by using this link: http://feeds2.feedburner.com/ScottSpeaksGeek or by clicking on "Subscribe" in the top right corner of the web page. You can also see things I've read and shared on Facebook or Google Reader using RSS on the left and right sidebars (Shared Links (FB) and Shared Items (GR)). If you are a blogger you can turn any RSS feed into a widget with most services, like I've done on this site.
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