What is RSS?

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a Web Content syndication format. RSS is a standard format for delivering content that changes on a regular basis. Content is delivered in small chunks, generally a synopsis, preview, or headline. This requires a web browser or RSS reader software.

RSS Feeds
Podcasts

The RSS feed file is simply a file which allows syndication software to track material available on our website. It is written in XML which is text with special codes.

As a subscriber these technical details are taken care of for you!

For additional information on RSS/XML, a thorough explanation can be found at RSS Specifications.

A Video On How RSS Works

How can I use RSS?

There are a number of applications collectively called RSS Newsreaders designed to read, manage and display content from RSS feeds. Some of these are standalone applications; others run in your browser; and many more modern web browsers support RSS without any addtional software being required. These applications allow a user to read headlines from dozens or hundreds of news sites at one time, by subscribing to RSS feeds. Click here for a list of newsreaders (Yahoo).

Types of RSS Readers

There are 3 types of readers - standalone, add-ons and built-in web feed readers.

Add On: Add-on readers utilize your existing program's capabilities, e.g. intraVnews (a RSS reader for Microsoft Outlook).
Stand-alone: It stands alone and processes your feeds for you , e.g. FeedDemon.
Web-Based: Built right into a browser , e.g. Internet Explorer 7.

What Are Podcasts?

Podcasting is a way to ’subscribe’ [learn how] to audio programs and have them delivered to your personal computer or your portable digital audio player (MP3 player).

As a subscriber to U.S. Embassy Ottawa podcasts you can automatically receive the latest edition of available programs.

These materials are accessible via freely available syndication software that checks for the latest files from the RSS feed on our website. New materials are downloaded to your computer and optionally to your MP3 player.

All U.S. Embassy Ottawa podcasts on our Podcasts & RSS page always include a Download button for listening without syndication software.

The term 'podcasting' originates from the use of Apple iTunes and iPods to download audio recordings where the broadcasting of the audio was combined with the word iPod to yield the word podcast!

How Do I subscribe?

iTunes

To subscribe to our podcasts using iTunes on PC's or Macs just click on the podcast image below:

Click to launch iTunes & Subscribe (You must have iTunes: download for free here)

Click to launch iTunes & Subscribe (* Please note: The podcast XML, was submitted to iTunes (May 8, 2008), so it may take a day or two before the US Embassy Ottawa podcasts show in the iTunes directory)

Can't find us? You can also search the podcast section of the iTunes store for the phrase u.s. embassy ottawa.

If this is not working, you can also manually add our podcast.

Here's how:

1. In iTunes, click the Advanced menu option
2. Choose Subscribe to podcast and ...
3. ... paste in this URL: http://ottawa.usembassy.gov/content/embconsul/xml/podcasts_speeches.xml
4. Click Ok and our podcast will have appeared in your list of podcasts.

Other Software

To subscribe to one of our podcasts, copy the address of the podcast feed below and add it to your podcast application:

• http://ottawa.usembassy.gov/content/embconsul/xml/podcasts_speeches.xml

Subscribe to other RSS feeds

To subscribe to any of our featured RSS feeds add the address of the feed to your bookmarks using copy & paste.

Tip: It is often best to use one bookmark folder to contain all such subscribed feeds. Your RSS reader software can then examine that folder for feed information.