RSS feeds are the next wave of donor communication — and using them really is as simple as the name implies.

By Joe Dysart

That’s all about to change. In mid-October, Microsoft announced that it bundled an RSS reader with its latest version of Internet Explorer — a move that essentially guarantees that every person who upgrades to IE 7 will have an RSS reader on board.

Moreover, access to the reader couldn’t be more simple. Users open it up simply by clicking on an icon embedded in IE 7’s tool bar at the top of the browser. Adding RSS feeds — messages sent over the Web that bypass the Internet’s e-mail system — takes just a mouse-click or two. Accessing feeds already added to the reader is just as easy.