What is a feed?
A feed (also known as an RSS feed) is collection of syndicated Web content that can be organized and viewed from a single location using a Web browser, news reader, a mobile phone, or really any technology that is capable of interpreting the feed data. Typically, feeds deliver content from sites that are frequently updated and organized into distinct chunks of information, like news headlines, magazine articles, blog posts, forums, and time schedules. However, there is really no restriction on the sort of content that can be delivered through a feed. While a lot of feeds consist of material from multiple sources (typical of news feeds), many also contain material from a single author—such as the posts from a syndicated blogger. Note: There are other formats (such as Atom), but they all essentially serve the same purpose—to syndicate Web content.
Websites publish feeds with the latest updates to their sites so that, instead of visiting a website over and over for the latest news, you can use a reader (such as Google Reader) to keep track of updates for you. Your reader can take multiple feeds and display all that content the way you want it.
A feed is another way of viewing web pages. If you are reading this post on this website, with all the layout and graphics intact, there is another way to view this site. Click this link to open a new window or tab to view this site’s feed. Well, at least a readable version of this site’s feed. You can see the most recent articles in chronological order, without all the graphics, bells, and whistles. You just see the text. There are programs called “feed readers” which take feed links, like the one above, and add them to a directory or feed list, also known as feed bookmarks. These programs hold your list of feeds and with a click or two, you can quickly move down the list, viewing the updated posts from the feeds on your favorite websites. How does this benefit web users?
A “feed” is a summary of Web content that is updated on a regular basis. It allows users to keep informed of a Web site’s latest changes. The feed format that eBay uses is Really Simple Syndication (RSS) 2.0.Feeds help eBay make content more accessible, and they allow you to easily see new content. A summary or “headline” view lets you quickly scan recent content changes, and headlines are linked to their appropriate content.
