PipStop

We’re in an age where technology changes seemingly as quickly as you learn something new. As online traders it’s imperative to be adept with technology, which will make you more efficient in this online environment.

Can you imagine watching your charts, only to realize too late that the trade you were in moved 100 points against you because your Internet connection was somehow disconnected? Or missing important pieces of news in the blogosphere about the broker you trade with and how they are in some kind of regulatory trouble endangering its long-term viability – and therefore your account?

Technology in 2008 is overwhelming. If you haven’t kept track, you have a lot of catching up to do.

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Today I’ll share a little about RSS or Really Simple Syndication as it’s widely known. Wikipedia is a tremendous resource for anything it seems, and it’s no different for RSS.
Off the top, though, I’ll share a clever and creative video recorded by Commom Craft, that simply explains what RSS is.

As the clip overviews, RSS is really comprised of two components that do one thing.

The One Thing that RSS Does

We’re all used to being subscribed to a variety of email lists, where we receive periodic updates from companies we want to hear from. Whether it’s online shopping specials or trading analysis newsletters, our email boxes are stuffed to the gills, and most of us don’t unsubscribe to the 2/3 of emails we never read.

RSS, which it’s estimated 5% of all computer users use, turns the tables, and allow YOU to subscribe to receive news whenever it’s updated on whatever websites you like to visit. So in this scenario you can stop worrying about spam or whether you’ll be unsubscribed from an email list. No one is able to invade you with unwanted news.

Now the question is how does RSS accomplish this? That’s where we get into the two components, which are comprised of RSS Reader and RSS Feeds.

Component #1
You have to find an RSS Reader. This is otherwise known as a newsreader. There are two types you can get, one is web-based, and the other is a installable version on your computer. Now, there are a lot of various types of readers out there, which you can research. For now, I’ll let you know that I use Google Reader, because it’s web-based and I can access it from any computer with an Internet connection.

Component #2
You are then open to adding whatever available RSS Feeds you want to your reader. RSS feeds aren’t available on all websites, but more and more are jumping on board. You will see some of the following icons which you can click on to add to your RSS Reader.

Trading Site of the Week: www.safehaven.com

A varied aggregation of market thoughts and analysis. Safe Haven, whose tagline is Preservation of Capital, seeks to be out of the mainstream, to provide commentary on trends before trends become obvious, where everything isn't measured in  perfect sense. Not everything is relevant, but occasionally you will read insightful, provoking pieces.