subject: Here are seven aspects of RSS for you to think about [print this page] Here are seven aspects of RSS for you to think about
Now before mentioning all the advantages of RSS (well seven of them at least)it probably is best to just mention what RSS actually is. I would be silly to feel everyone knows and you can't really appreciate it and what it has to offer if you are not sure specifically what it is.
When you visit a website or a blog there will be times when you will notice the little orange icon somewhere with the letters RSS embedded within it. These letters stand for Really Simple Syndication or in come cases Rich Site Summary. What this means is that through this tool the updated content of a site or blog is being republished.
With an RSS on a site updates about the site that occur can be syndicated out to all those you subscribe to it. These updates can be simple one liners, they can be as long as a paragraph, you may even want to include pictures, descriptions in fact whatever the site owner chooses to use to tell you their site has been updated.Let's expand for a minute, all an RSS does is lets people know that the site they are subscribing to has been updated in some way, that there is a new piece of information that you the subscriber may want to read.
OK now that we have touched on what an RSS really is, what are the benefits of using it?
All who have access to RSS benefit be it the publisher of the content or the reader.
1. Already mentioned in the article, you acquire site updates whenever changes are made.
Imagine for a moment you subscribe to my RSS feed. Now if I really want to provide customer service I can update you on tips, hints, suggestions for whatever I am providing; maybe dog training, or growing certain types of roses, cooking, computer software, whatever. The point is, due to the RSS I am constructing a relationship with you and if I was to decide to create a new product and wanted to test it or offer it to a select few for a discount, then you will be the first to hear about it.
Now if you are a publisher you want to get your feeds out to as many RSS feed sites as you can, Using something like Magic Submitter to do it automatically for you saves you a load of time.
2. You get to save time looking through hundreds of websites.
Because you acquire summaries of updates and content you have a choice as to whether or not you want to go further into the content and read more or to ignore it. This means you actually get to experience a tast of the update and if it pricks your curiosity you can then take the time to read more, otherwise just ignore it and save time.
3. You have the power to decide what you receive and not.
You have the choice to move your subscriptions whenever you want which means that you have the availability to technically switch off the feed of content you no longer like and choose something different.
4. Feeds don't come to your email inbox so you don't have to worry about it being overwhelmed.
You will have to give an email address to subscribe at the beginning but because you use what is called an aggregator to read your feeds, you wont get updates in your email box.
5. Because of point four It is spam free.
When you subscribe to anything on email you run the risk of obtaining spam because your address gets sold on etc. You don't have to worry about that with an RSS because as already mentioned in point four you are not using your email account to receive the feeds.
6. If you no longer want to subscribe to an RSS no problem you can cancel your subscription no problem.
There have been numerous times when I have wanted to cancel an email subscription and I ahve had to go through so many steps to do so, in fact on one occasion I had to ring the company as it was the only way and the guy spent two minutes trying to get me to stay. The beauty of RSS is you simply delete the feed and no one asks any questions.
7. RSS can be a way of getting marketing messages out to its readers.
One way RSS benefits all that use it is through marketing. As a provider you will be looking to build a relationship with your subscribers and if do this in a correct manner then you can tell them about any new products or service through your RSS feed. There is one thing you can do as a publisher and that is to look at getting your RSS feed out to RSS Feed Directories through something like Magic Submitter. As a subscriber you get to choose if the product you are being told about is worth looking more into, or you can simply ignore it.
So there you have 7 basic added benefits to RSS and why you should look into using it, you will save some much time you will be glad you did
