RSS Feeds Have Loudoun County News Delivered to You! Thanks to the technology of Really Simple Syndication (RSS), you can now get Loudoun County government news and information delivered directly to your desktop. (Skip intro, go to list of feeds.) What is RSS? RSS feeds are free content feeds from websites, including the Loudoun County website, that contain headlines, summaries and links back to the website for more information. RSS is an XML-based format for electronic content distribution. RSS allows developers to codify content and make it available for users to pull to their desktop via a news reader (or "aggregator") – software that displays RSS feeds. Used most often to disseminate news and Web logs (blogs), RSS allows content producers to create feeds to which users subscribe, like subscribing to a broadcast e-mail list. Advantages of RSS RSS is an easy way for you to be alerted when new content appears on websites you have selected. Instead of visiting a particular website to browse for new articles and features, RSS automatically tells you when something new is posted online. There are several other advantages to using RSS feeds: Feeds update themselves whenever new content becomes available. You don't have to give out your e-mail address to get feeds. You won't receive feeds to which you haven't subscribed. How to subscribe Step 1: Get a news reader To start using RSS, you need a news reader that displays RSS content feeds from websites you select. There are many different news readers available, many of which are free of charge. The news readers vary somewhat in form and function, so you may want to try a few before picking one. Google lists many news readers you can download. An alternative to downloading a dedicated news reader is to use a Web-based news reader. For example, My Yahoo! users can now add RSS feeds directly to their personal page. This will enable you to access your RSS feed without having to run a special program. Step 2: Sign Up for Feeds To add a Loudoun County government feed to your news reader: Copy one of the URLs (web addresses) below Open your news reader Select New Channel, Subscribe, etc. Paste in the URL Follow prompts as directed Loudoun County Government Feeds Headlines: http://loudoun.vhost.vipnet.org/rss/headlines.xml News releases from the Loudoun County Public Information Office: http://loudoun.vhost.vipnet.org/rss/news.xml