How to Follow Us
One very convenient tool for managing and following information online is through the use of “RSS feeds.” Whole Family Nutrition supports the use of this useful technology, and we recommend you investigate RSS if you’re not already familiar with it.
What are feeds?
Feeds (RSS, Atom, etc.) permit instant subscription to regular updates, delivered automatically via a web portal, news reader, or in some cases email. Your feeds can all be aggregated in one place, as though you have a desktop program showing immediate access to all of your favorite content. Feeds also make it possible for you to aggregate your information into “widgets,” “gadgets,” mobile devices, and other bite-sized technologies so you can follow blogs, podcasts, and major news headlines from just about anywhere.
You may recognize the universal feed icon: 
or other “chicklets” from your favorite websites, blogs, and podcasts. These icons represent content in any format – text, audio or video – to which you can subscribe to using a feed reader (more about feed readers below).
Why use RSS?
RSS makes it possible to keep track of your favorite websites and blogs without having to surf to each site manually or clutter your email inbox. You can now streamline your online experience by subscribing to specific content feeds and “aggregating” this information in one place to be read when you’re available.
- Subscribing to feeds makes it possible to see a large amount of your favorite online content all in one place.
- Automatic streaming of your favorite content allows you to quickly keep abreast of the latest developments on websites or news sites you enjoy.
Who publishes feeds?
Most of the biggest names on the web offer content feeds including USATODAY.com, BBC News Headlines, ABCNews, CNET, Yahoo!, Amazon.com, and many more. In addition, hundreds of thousands of bloggers, podcasters, and videobloggers publish feeds to keep themselves better connected to their readers.
How do I set up my own favorite list of feeds?
If you want to browse and subscribe to feeds, you have many choices. Today, there are more than 2,000 different feed reading applications, also known as “news aggregators”. There are even readers that work exclusively on mobile devices.
You can use a feed reader for absolutely free, or you can pay for a special one you particularly like. A search for “Feed reader” or “Feed aggregator” at popular search sites will yield many results. But to make it easier, I’ve listed the most popular here:
Applications: NewsGator – FeedDemon 2.0, NewsGator – Inbox for Microsoft Outlook, NewsGator – NetNewsWire (OS X), Firefox (via “Live Bookmarks” feature), Safari (in the Apple OS X native browser), & Pulp Fiction (OS X)
Online Services: Google Reader, NewsGator(Online), My Yahoo!, Bloglines, Pageflakes, & Netvibes
After the initial break-in period, using your chosen feed reader will become second nature. You just might get hooked and never look back!
The following informative video by Common Craft provides an audio-visual overview of RSS: