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RSS - Feeds For All

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If you've spent more than a nanosecond on the web lately then no doubt youll have caught wind of RSS otherwise known as Really Simple Syndication.

RSS is the it girl of the web right now. Why? Well, like so many good web innovations its a stealth technology that has crept up on us, untouched by the hands of corporate marketing departments. But whilst this movement has won the hearts of the web hardcore, Im sure youre wondering whats in it for you? Well, RSS is a simple tool that enables your web site users to subscribe to your content in new, convenient ways. And as a publisher of content, RSS enables you to get your content delivered to your users in real time and on a more personal basis.

As such, RSS is a new web communications vehicle....and something you ought to be using.

How it works....

The first thing a wanabee RSS user needs is an RSS reader application... There are many different applications available, some of which are accessed through browsers (like Bloglines), and some of which are downloadable clientside software (like Sharp Reader). All of them allow users to subscribe to RSS feeds in the same way.

With an RSS reader, users can subscribe to content feeds from any RSSenabled web pages. Good examples of RSS feeds may be for news stories on media sites (see the BBC) and press releases on corporate sites (see Argogroup) in short, content from any web pages that tends to be updated frequently and needs to be consumed quickly (another example may be for a software development firm that needs to publish bug fixes).

Once subscribed to a feed, users will get content delivered to their readers dynamically, the moment its published. The feeds provide basic information about themselves (such as title, logo, URL etc.) and content (usually in the form of a content extract eg, the first paragraph of a press release or a news story). This information is presented to the user as a linear, reverse chronological list within their reader application.

Why its cool....

From a user perspective, its all about convenience...

As soon as a new piece of content news story, press release, bug fix is published, users get it. In addition, because it is pushed and accessed through the use of a reader application, this makes the retrieval of content from web sites a whole lot easier. For example, rather than browsing multiple web sites to get news stories, those stories now seek out the user. In a simple way, this means hasslefree browsing of content no more multiple window sessions and no more computers grinding to a halt as a result.

From a publisher perspective, its all about getting closer to your audience.

The prime benefit in RSS is that its a subscription based model ie, in order to get their feeds, users need to actively subscribe to them. This means that they are primed to talk to you theyve optedin and requested to hear from you. As such, your communications via RSS will always be welcomed. Secondly, RSS gets ALL of your content delivered to subscribers, as opposed to communicating by email, whose deliverability can suffer from spam restrictions and other phenomena like phishing.

How important is it...?

Its big and its growing. Heres some RSS statification for you (unfortunately theres a lack of European data out there, but this gives you the story so far)...

• The latest Jupiter Research report (Jupiter RSS Consumption March 2005 Report) shows that RSS is currently being used by 12% of the American online population
• According to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, 5% (or 6 million) of webusing Americans used RSS feeds in November 2004
• The International Federation of the Periodical Press groups latest study shows that 30% of all consumer media sites are providing their content via RSS feeds

Interestingly, RSS is already a core feature of the Firefox browser (currently enjoying around a 10 15% market share depending on who you read), which neatly enables users to get RSS feeds delivered within their browser window. Microsoft is also planning to integrate RSS within the next version of Internet Explorer, as well as its upcoming Longhorn operating systems. Importantly, Microsofts adoption of RSS will commercialise the technology in a way that only Microsoft can do. RSS for the masses coming your way!

So whats to do....?

RSS is good news for you. It gets you closer to your audiences and its cheap to implement. If you already have a dynamic web site (based on a Content Management System, or driven by a database), then generating RSS feeds is childs play. And currently there is little RSS competition from your competitors, leaving the field open for you to build new content relationships with your audience.

In terms of what RSS can do to improve the performance of your content, some sites are claiming a 5:1 ratio of RSS subscribers to email subscribers, and a 500% better clickthrough ratio from content delivered via RSS as opposed to email. As such, it seems that RSS subscribers may be more disposed to follow your calls to action and sign up for your new event or your latest product offering. So you should get on board!

Squiz's take...

We believe that RSS should be used wherever possible (feeds for your press releases, feeds for your blogs, feeds for your newsletters, etc) as a complimentary communications channel to email. At the end of the day, because RSS is cheap to implement, then its easy for you to provide your audience with a choice. Let them subscribe to your content services in the way that suits them RSS and/or email... and monitor usage patterns over time to see how you can better serve them and switch them on to sales.

RSS may well be the preserve of the Firefox cognoscenti today, but tomorrow it will become a mainstream means of accessing web content....And as this movement happens, you can bet your life that innovation will follow giving us new ways of communicating in the process. So....get on board. Deliver feeds for all!!