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The
Future of RSS Is Not Blogs
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by:
S. Housley
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Blogs
vaulted RSS into the limelight but are unlikely to be the force that
sustains RSS as a communication medium. The biggest opportunities for
RSS are not in the blogosphere but as a corporate communication
channel.
Even now, businesses that were initially reluctantly evaluating RSS are
beginning to realize the power and benefit of the RSS information
avenue. The inherent capacity for consumers to select the content they
wish to receive will be the driving mechanism for keeping
advertisements to a minimum and content quality consistent.
Like the Internet when it first started, blogs were emboldened by the
"cool factor". As the novelty of being new and cool wears off, Internet
webmasters and bloggers alike are realizing that maintaining a website
or blog is time-consuming. "Coolness" often wears off if a channel is
not monetized. With the ease of blogging and the array of blogs
available, only a handful will be able to sustain fresh, constant,
unique content and generate any sort of reasonable or significant
revenue. As a result, blogs as we know them today will fade into the
background, with many blogs being abandoned.
RSS, being a tool that saves Internet surfers time and allows
webmasters to re-purpose and re-package existing and new content will,
in my opinion, continue to thrive. A business effectively using RSS can
bring new site visitors, increase search engine positioning, and
generate product interest. The flexibility of RSS as a communication
medium and the expansion capabilities of the enclosure tag will allow
RSS to flourish as an online marketing tool. Each day businesses are
adopting new uses for RSS, and users are becoming accustomed to
skimming content that *they* choose in a single centralized location.
As businesses adopt RSS and consumers experiment with feeds, the
popularity of RSS will grow. Ultimately, consumers are the driving
force behind technology. The convenience of RSS and increased
popularity will set a precedent for consumer expectations. Businesses
using RSS as a communication vehicle are able to create keyword-rich,
themed content, establishing trust, reputation, and ongoing
communication with current and prospective customers.
The big consumer benefit to RSS is that consumers opt-in to content of
interest, totally controlling the flow of information they receive. If
the quality of the content in the feed declines, users simply remove
the feed from their RSS reader and they will not receive any additional
updates from that source. The RSS reader acts as an aggregator,
allowing users to view and scan multiple content streams in a timely
fashion.
Consumer expectation will drive businesses that are slow to adopt.
Ultimately, RSS will be a standard, like email addresses and websites
are now a "must" for businesses. RSS feeds will join their ranks.
Unlike blogs, businesses can easily justify RSS feeds, as they will be
increasing customer and corporate communication. RSS will create new
revenue channels. RSS has the potential to help companies develop
strong relationships with consumers and create brand loyalty. RSS Feeds
will draw existing customers and prospective clients, translating to a
new or renewed income stream. Businesses using RSS feeds as a
communication medium to notify interested customers of specials,
discounts, product announcements, technical support tips, news and
industry studies will ultimately sustain RSS as a viable and valued
communication medium.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll
http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing
RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for
NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software
company.
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