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RSS for Law Students and Associates: In 5 Really Simple Steps

By Neetal Parekh on January 27, 2010 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

The information superhighway of yesterday doesn't cut it today.  Think information superplanet. With well over 100 million blogs populating the online stream of information, options of following hundreds of lawyers and law professors on Twitter, and having the ability to ask a question about the law and get an answer from a dynamic online legal community...the only thing left to say is, welcome to Web 3.0. 

The challenge has shifted from finding information to finding the right information and to trying make online queries and browsing effective for your needs.  And, for law practitioners, law students, and the legal community it has never been more important to learn tools to help make the most of your time online.

One gamechanger is RSS (Really Simple Syndication). And this is your quick & easy intro to this online tool for web syndication.

Imagine getting case law for a particular circuit, blogs specializing in various topics of law, or posts from your law school's law review blog, and your favorite legal funnies delivered to your screen.  It's a way to traverse the webbed world of vast online legal information.

RSS for the Legal Community : In 5 Really Simple Steps

1. RSS is a way to deliver the information you want to you.  Typically you do the searching and finding and then go to websites and blog posts to read their latest content.  With RSS, you pull your favorite feeds to you. It saves you time from visiting multiple sites a day and also gives you front-row access to the latest entries or articles as soon as they are posted.

2. To use RSS, you need to choose a reader. A newsreader (also called a feed aggregator) is where your favorite feeds will be delivered.  Most are free and just require an online sign-up. Common readers include Google Reader, Bloglines, and Netvibes.  Checking your newsreader will become like checking your email...you might just keep it open or access it regularly for updates.

3. Now, when you go to your favorite sites look for the RSS symbol.  Yeah, that curious little orange symbol is not a button to see the acoustic version of the page. It is how you pull a feed you like into your reader.

4. Like something you see? Subscribe.  For example, let's say you wanted to subscribe to this Greedy Associates blog (and we would be most obliged if you did).  All you have to do is look for the orange RSS button.  For example, the RSS feed button for this blog is located under the "About Greedy Associates" section on the right-hand side of the page.

Once you click on it you'll get options on adding it to your reader.  And most readers will also allow you to add feed directly to the reader as well, and may even have search options to find blogs or browse feeds you might like.

5.  Want to learn more, tune into this quick & helpful video from the folks at Common Craft.



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