WebMonkey has done an excellent piece on RSS
Have you ever noticed those inviting orangebuttons on some Web pages, or spotted the odd link pitching an "RSS feed"? If you've ever clicked one out of curiosity, and then scratched your head at the unformatted gobbledygook in your web browser, you've seen an RSS file.
What is it really for, anyway? Two things: RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is an easy way for sites to share headlines and stories so that other sites can integrate them into their pages. Additionally, some savvy surfers use special RSS aggregators — kind of like mini-browsers — to speedily flip through the latest news and links from dozens of sites.
Funny that they focus on the XML Icon in the first sentence. I think it's funny cause I made the icon for Dave. Kinda makes me the man, behind the man, Behind the man.