So you've set up your RSS feeds, and updates from your favorite Web sites are being instantly delivered right to your Web browser. But you're not satisfied. You want more.

Well, have no fear, more is here.

RSS-ify your life

Blog posts are only the beginning of what you can subscribe to with RSS. Waiting for a package in the mail? Go to this page and plug in your tracking number.

Waiting to see if something on Amazon will get marked down? Paste a link to the item's product page into the form at WatchCow.net. (Or paste a link to your Amazon wishlist, and WatchCow will inform you of price changes on any of the items.)

You can track eBay auctions, Google News queries, stocks, tech bargains, jobs and, of course, much more. If you perform a basic search for anything on Yahoo these days, you can subscribe to the results with your RSS reader, receiving notifications every time new results pop up.

And if your most-watched Web site lacks an RSS feed, you'll just have to make your own. Fortunately, it's not that hard, if you can recognize even a smidgen of HTML.

Rolling your own RSS feeds

This Web site lets you collect information from any Web page into an RSS feed. It works by looking for the patterns you provide to identify where each item in the feed starts and ends. So Web sites that provide well-structured data but don't always have ready-made RSS feeds, like forums and event calendars, are perfect for things like this.

Click image to view my tutorial on using the RSS generator

For example, we could use it to keep track of a thread on the CentralCali.com forums. Quasi-melodic '90s hip-pop collective Bone Thugs -n- Harmony is coming to Fresno? Wow! I want to know the moment any new information is added to this thread.

So I hit up the RSS generator, and here's the result. Try subscribing to that page in your RSS reader. To find out how I made it, read my tutorial, or read one of the tutorials available at the site.

Of course, RSS isn't only exciting because it lets you keep track of information in your Web browser. The next phase of the Custom Web goes beyond your browser, right to your ears.

Podcasting

Despite its name, "podcasting" isn't something you need an iPod to enjoy. Anyone who uses a portable mp3 player can get on board the podcasting bandwagon.

Imagine having fresh new content on your iPod/iRiver/Rio/other every time you sync it up with your computer -- a mix of songs, talk shows and other audio that you've selected, content that can be easily made by anyone with a computer.

Just like you use an RSS reader to subscribe to a feed of information, "podcatchers" let you subscribe to audio feeds and automatically download those feeds to your mp3 player.

First, download a podcatcher. (IPodder is a popular option.)

Then, find some podcasts you want to listen to. Podcast Alley has an excellent directory (see also: Podcast Directory, Podcast.net, Public Radio Fan, and tons of others). Fresno Famous recently added a podcast.

For more on podcasting, see this Jody Murray article that appeared in The Bee's Life section in January.

It's also quite easy to create a podcast of your own. Start with this Wired tutorial.

Beyond RSS

Probably the most compelling reason to get on board with RSS is that all this is only a humble beginning. While right now, RSS is a convenient way to pull in lots of information, what's going on behind the scenes is actually revolutionary. When you make an RSS feed, what you're really doing is taking the information out of its little Web page box and freeing it, letting others use it in a different way and splice it with more information.

As the Web evolves, we're going to start to see this happening more and more to our media and information -- they'll be collected, dissected and remixed into a ton of different formats. This year saw the launch of the first radio station that plays only podcasts. How long before television breaks out of the 30-minute-segment cookie cutter?