The age of going out and hunting for your news is over. In fact, it has been over since the implementation of RSS feeds. Short for “rich site summary” but often colloquially called “really simple syndication,” RSS feeds are a kind of dumping ground for the content you want to know on the web.

OK, so “dumping ground” is not really the most appealing term. How about, say, “discovery chamber?” That works better. RSS feeds are discovery chambers, providing you with quick links to articles or other content that might be of interest to you. These feeds, by the way, can be accessed by what are called RSS readers.

An RSS reader is either a website- or desktop-based program that allows multiple RSS feeds to mingle with each other right in front of you. With RSS syndication, you get audio, video, blog posts, traditional news articles and more. These are not just for current events, either. Feeds highlighting the latest music, movies, books, sports games and even random trivia are prominent as well.

One of the most popular RSS sites was Google Reader, which was discontinued in summer 2013 due to declining readership. Nevertheless, there are plenty of sites and apps can that deliver your RSS content. After all, who wants to hunt when what you are looking for can be delivered right to you?

So what is the takeaway of these RSS feeds? For one thing, it saves you time. You no longer have to spend time hunting through websites scrolling past content you have already seen to find the newest information. Email notifications could work, but too many could be overwhelming and could border on spam territory.

That is why RSS feeds work. They give you the convenience of information delivered right where you need it. And that is what the Internet age is all about.