The shortest answer, with the minimum amount of technical jargon, is a method for delivering your bookmarked items to you, rather than having to click around looking for fresh material.
Prior to the development of feeds, people kept a list of web sites in their browser's "bookmarks" section and visited those sites at various intervals looking for new stuff. Other than an email bulletin or other contact with the site owner, there was no other method for staying current with the material that any given web site was producing.
Feeds provide a method for knowing what's new, and how often. This site offers several options for picking and choosing feeds based on your area of interest. If no items tickle your fancy, you'll know it without ever visiting this site. Not that you're unwelcome here. This is all about saving time for you.
To use a feed, simply right-click the link (Windows, Linux) and select "copy link location". Using the feed reader of your choice (such as Bloglines), paste the link into the feed list and you'll receive (ir-)regular updates, depending on what feed you choose.
To see what feeds look like in action, click here to view Ethan's feed subscriptions.
Feeds aren't always ideal for everyone, but we offer them to anyone who chooses to use them. They're free, so give them a try.
