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If you want to subscribe to a podcast, you’re going to need the RSS feed. This is the hyperlink that provides your RSS reader with all the latest episodes from a podcast.

You can find an RSS Feed on any website that delivers a podcast.

The universal symbol for RSS is 

If a website delivers any sort of RSS Feed, whether it be for a podcast, newsletter, blog or other info, you will find this symbol on your internet browser.

For Firefox this symbol will be just to the right in the address bar.

For internet Explorer 7 this symbol is almost in the same place, but not directly in the address bar – just a little lower and to the right.

If a website does not have an RSS Feed, there will be no symbol in FireFox, and in Internet Explorer the symbol becomes grey and un-clickable.

Click on this symbol in the toolbar of your preferred internet browser. You will be directed to the RSS Feed for that page.

For example for CBC News I am directed to this page.

The URL that is now displayed in your address bar is the RSS Feed. Copy and paste the URL into your RSS Reader and you are ready to go!

Or, go here: How do I play a podcast after I find the RSS Feed?

You can also find an RSS Feed within a website itself.

Websites differ in where the symbol is displayed, but most of them make it easy to find on their homepage. You may see links that contain words like “subscribe,” “RSS” or “Alerts” that will also direct you to an RSS Feed.

For example, on the CBC News website, you can see the RSS symbol in the browser, as well as link to “News RSS” on the webpage. You can click either, but they will produce different results.

By clicking on the RSS Symbol in the tool bar I am directed to the RSS Feed for CBC News Top Stories (above screenshot with RSS Feed URL). By clicking on the link in the webpage I am directed to a list of more targeted media I can subscribe to, like CBC Sports - Hockey News.

For websites that have many different RSS Feeds, like CBC News, it may be a better idea to browse the site and look around for subscription links.

An RSS Feed typically looks something like: http://rss.cbc.ca/lineup/sports-hockey.xml

This is the RSS Feed for CBC Sports - Hockey News

As for the CBC Hockey News podcast – “Stanley Cup Countdown,” the RSS Feed is

http://www.cbc.ca/mediafeeds/rss/cbc/stanleycup2009-video-podcast.xml

Note: You may also see links to “Subscribe in iTunes” when browsing for RSS Feeds for podcasts. This will simply open your iTunes programs and automatically subscribe to the podcast in your podcast playlist. This saves time over copy and pasting the RSS Feed into your iTunes Feed Reader or searching through the iTunes podcast directory.

How to use iTunes to subscribe to a podcast?

How do I play a podcast after I find the RSS Feed?

This can be done in a number of methods, using various programs. I have outlined “How to Subscribe to a Podcast” in a separate blog post. This is a detailed, but easy-to-read blog outlining the steps to podcast subscription using iTunes, iGoogle, and Microsoft Outlook 2007.

Tags: How to find RSS, play podcast, Podcast, RSS, RSS Feed, What is RSS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 5th, 2009 at 12:32 pm and is filed under General Posts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.