Light Touch Designs

By Werner Schamberger (c) 2007

What is RSS?

You probably have seen this three-letter acronym in the
course of your internet surfing. RSS stands for Really Simple
Syndication or Rich Site Summary; syndicating means republishing
an article that comes from another source such as a website. A
RSS feed is a means of publicizing updates about websites. It
may or may not include a summary and photos of the latest
posting. But those that provide summaries (thus Rich Site
Summary) allow users to skim through the article so that they
can decide later on if they want to access the website source.
The RSS feed usually contains the title of the update originating
from the website. It is also usually the link to the website
source.

What are the Benefits of RSS?
RSS provides benefits to both readers (users) and web publishers.

1. It gives you the latest updates. Whether it is about the
weather, new music, software upgrade, local news, or a new
posting from a rarely-updated site, you can learn about the
latest as soon as it comes out.

2. It saves on surfing time. Since an RSS feed provides a
summary of the related article, it saves the user's time by
helping s/he decide on which items to prioritize when reading
or browsing the net.

3. It gives the power of subscription to the user. Users are
given a free-hand on which websites to subscribe to in their
RSS aggregators which they can change at any time they decide
differently.

4. It lessens the clutter in your inbox. Although your email
address will be required to enjoy the services of online RSS
aggregators, RSS does not use your email address to send the
updates.

5. It is spam free. Unlike email subscriptions, RSS does not
make use of your email address to send updates thus your privacy
is kept safe from spam mails.

6. Unsubscribing is hassle-free. Unlike email subscriptions
where the user is asked questions on why s/he is unsubscribing
and then the user is asked to confirm unsubscribing, all
you have to do is to delete the RSS feed from your aggregator.

7. It can be used as an advertising or marketing tool. Users who
subscribe to or syndicate product websites receive the latest
news on products and services without the website sending spam
mail. This is advantageous to both the web user and the website
owner since advertising becomes targeted; those who are actually
interested in their products are kept posted.

What are the Drawbacks of RSS?

The disadvantages of RSS stem from user-preference concerns and
the fact that it is a new technology.

1. Some users prefer receiving email updates over an RSS feed.

2. Graphics and photos do not appear in all RSS feeds. For
conciseness and ease of publication, RSS feeds do not display
the photos from the original site in announcing the update
except for some web-based aggregators.

3. The identity of the source website can be confusing. Since
RSS feeds do not display the actual URL or name of the website,
it can sometimes get confusing on what feed a user is actually
reading.

4. Publishers cannot determine how many users are subscribed to
their feed and the frequency of their visits. Moreover, they
do not know the reasons why users unsubscribe which could be
important in improving their advertising.

5. RSS feeds create higher traffic and demands on the server.
Most readers still prefer the whole update over a brief summary
of the entry, thus they still access the site.

6. Since it is a new technology, many sites still do not support
RSS.

How Do I Start Using RSS?

There are two things needed: an RSS feed and an RSS aggregator
or reader. The RSS feed comes from an RSS-supported website.
There are also websites that provide a list of RSS feeds from
different websites. An RSS aggregator is used to read the RSS
feed from the source website. It scans and collects data on the
latest RSS feeds from the worldwide web.

An aggregator comes in two forms: a downloadable program, also
known as a desktop aggregator, and an online or web-based
aggregator. Downloadable aggregators may require payment before
they can be acquired, while internet-based aggregators are
usually free of charge. All you need to do is to register an
account and you are ready to use their services. Both versions
allow you to customize, or choose, which RSS feeds to enter.
Paid aggregators are usually chosen by more experienced users
and they usually allow more freedom in customizing feeds.

1. Choose an RSS aggregator to use. For beginners, web-based
aggregators are recommended since they are usually user-friendly.

2. Scan the homepage of your target website for the RSS or XML
button. It contains the RSS code you need to enter in the
aggregator. Copy this code. Syndic8 (http://www.syndic8.com/)
provides a directory of websites that support RSS.

3. Paste the code (which contains the URL of the website) in
your aggregator. There is a space provided for pasting the code.

After you have done these three easy steps, you can start
reading the RSS feeds coming from the website. New postings
appear as they are published in real time at the source website.

RSS and Internet Marketing

The original idea of RSS came from Netscape, where the
intention was to provide a means for users to customize their
personal homepages with links to websites that were of interest
to them, similar to bookmarking websites.

The application of RSS to internet marketing was an unforeseen
development to RSS technology developers. Since users are given
the freedom to add RSS feeds to their aggregators, those who are
interested in particular products and services available on the
internet can now be notified real time. Marketing becomes more
specific to interested people and not a hit-and-miss operation.

Medium to big-scale companies who intend to use RSS for marketing
their products and services should consider linking up with email
account providers, (e.g. Yahoo, MSN, Google mail); networking
websites (e.g. Friendster, Multiply, My Space, Hi5); websites of
newspapers and television network websites (e.g. New York Times,
CNN). Smaller companies can also look at networking websites
as well as personal blog websites (e.g. Blogspot) and websites
of clubs and organizations that would probably make use of their
products or services e.g. a fishing supplies store can look for
the website of their local fishing club for possible RSS
marketing.

Clearly, RSS is an innovation in worldwide web information
management as well as online marketing. We can expect better
RSS technology in the not-so-distant future as its popularity
increases among users and website owners alike.

Werner Schamberger is CEO of http://www.homework-online.ws and
http://www.best-articles-online.info. He is an entrepreneur and
author.