From an article by Reuters published today (via Micro Persuasion) titled, â??Untangle the World Wide Web with RSSâ?�:

“Only 2 percent of online consumers bother (using RSS feeds), according to Forrester, and more than half of that group is 40 years old or younger.”

Two percent. Thatâ??s not a whole hell of a lot. RSS has been around a little while, when will it begin to really catch on? Chances are if youâ??re reading this, though, youâ??re a convert. But maybe not. Maybe youâ??re reading this post from my homepage right in your browser and you have no idea how to subscribe or what this orange symbol means.

Instead of explaining it to you myself, I’ll lead you to some excellent definitions. Go to the pro, Seth Godin, for a really simple definition or visit Wikipedia, any blog platform or Google â??define: rssâ?� and read on.

The question for readers who may only be starting to recognize the symbol is this: should I bother to invest the time and effort to get into RSS mode?

My answer to you is simple: Yes. But thatâ??s not emphatic enough. How about: YES, YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST GET INTO RSS. But only if you want to simplify your life.

How so? Because with RSS, youâ??re in control of what you’re exposed to. Total control.

â?¢ Every blog you read is powered by RSS feeds. When you subscribe, itâ??s like asking the blog to come to you. Every time a blog is updated, youâ??ll know without having to visit the homepage. Essentially, the blog tells you, â??Look at me! Look at me!â?� Now that youâ??re not visiting every site you deem a must-read, and having all of your feeds updated in a single newsreader window, youâ??re saving time as you can pick and choose what you read.

â?¢ More and more news services are incorporating RSS feeds. Look for the RSS page, choose from among the magazine or newspaperâ??s sections, writers, most popular stories, most emailed and so on. In other words, read what you what and filter out the rest. Some RSS page examples: Time Magazine, WashingtonPost.com.

â?¢ Give your email inbox a rest. Subscribe to your newsletters through RSS, keep them away of your spam filters and enjoy one click cancellation.

â?¢ Track prices for things you want to buy.

â?¢ A whole bunch of other uses for content you want to publish, courtesy of RSS Specifications and Ana Rincon.

â?¢ And this suggestion by blogging guru Debbie Weil: track your companyâ??s targeted keywords.

When you consider all this, itâ??s clear. Yes, you should bother with RSS. But only if you want to control your web usage.

RSS Related extras:

â?¢ Hereâ??s a different, make that clearer, explanation of what RSS feeds are all about: How to explain RSS the Oprah way.

â?¢ Some interesting thoughts about RSS adoption (and other RSS uses) can be found at DecisionCast.

â?¢ Ten uses for RSS in law firms.

â?¢ Back in November 2005, people were already asking how long it would take for widespread adoption to happen.

â?¢ And finally, hereâ??s Copyblogger Brian Clark’s great explanation.

This entry was posted on Friday, December 29th, 2006 at 10:50 pm and is filed under RSS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.