RSS offers the web site publisher an effective way to get the news about updated content out to users.
Search Engine Guide talks about the virtues of RSS in an article today. By adding a simple script to the web server, a publisher can have a RSS feed available for distribution.
RSS doesn’t hold any deep dark secrets. It’s simply a way to define content in a standardized fashion. Content that conforms to the schema can be read by any RSS-capable reader, and there is no shortage of those on the Internet today.
Some quarters hold the view that RSS will be the superior way to provide content to interested users, much more effective than email. It’s certainly easier to manage, unless a firm wants to go with a third-party mailing list manager. For those keeping it in-house, mailing lists have to be maintained, with large lists virtually requiring the use of a database to hold their subscriber data.
Once the technology for RSS has been enabled on the server, managing the receipt of content falls squarely on the client-side. System administrators and site publishers love that. But those RSS proponents don’t always emphasize the most important part of the process – providing regularly updated, compelling content.
For sites focused on the entertainment and sports industries, content comes pretty easily to them. But if you’re making a specific automotive part, or covering legislation on a particular vertical market like health care, your content isn’t going to be a barrel of laughs all the time. If you have someone who can turn spark plugs into sparkling content, give him a raise.
If your product or service doesn’t lend itself to Simpsons-like humor, you have to go for completeness and accuracy. Being a trusted source can be even more valuable that being an entertaining one. Make the content so good that people don’t just want it, they need it. Emphasize just how useful your RSS feed would be to them.
People have become used to email, and most users have some sort of email program on their computers by default, and they use it. Newsreaders aren’t so ingrained into user’s habits yet, but that could change after Microsoft launches IE7 and Windows Vista. Until RSS become a habit, you have to focus on making it desirable. And regularly updated, expert content will be the key to accomplishing that.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
