The Marketer’s Guide to RSS

We assume you’re asking what the heck is this stuff, how does it work and why should I care? If you already know the answers to these three questions then you want the next installment of this article: Implementing RSS.

RSS stands for “Completely Meaningless Name.” Oh, wait, that’s PCMCIA (People Can’t MakeSenseOf Computer Industry Acronyms). No matter. All RSS does is deliver headlines and a short synopsis of new articles posted on a specific Web site to an RSS reader, or perhaps the bookmark toolbar of your Web browser. It’s the paperboy, delivering the newspaper–only this newspaper consists of headlines, abstracts, and links to the full story.

So how does it work? Let’s show you.

Subscribe (RSS)

Click on the subscribe link and you see a content list for BNJ.com, which is really just a blog (we really do eat our own cooking). But this content list is delivered to you by RSS (which actually stands for Really Simple Syndication). The screen you will see varies a little depending on stored preferences, but you should either see an iconic listing of feed readers or a line that says “show all subscribe options.” Click that and you’ll see a list of RSS readers, which are very handy ways of organizing all the newspapers you’re getting tossed on your doorstep.

If you use a version of Internet Explorer prior to 7.0, then a feedreader is your only choice. Clicking on one of the feed readers will step you through a simple sign-up process and install the B&J feed. I like the Google reader, but that’s me.

There’s an easier way to use RSS though, and it’s one reason that RSS is becoming a hot topic. If you use Firefox or Safari you can click on the choice that says “View Feed XML.” and then you can select an option in the selection box that says, “Subscribe to this feed using live bookmarks.” Choose that option, select “Subscribe Now” and a new live bookmark (“live bookmarks” are just marketspeak for RSS feeds) will be inserted into your browser’s bookmark toolbar as well as the bookmark listing available in the browser menu.

Presto, you’re subscribed to the “Babcock & Jenkins Newspaper” and you’ll be forced to read everything we write from now on.

Integrated RSS reading is coming soon to just about every browser (just as it already is with Firefox and Safari). Obviously there’s limited real estate in your browser toolbar, which is one reason the RSS readers will continue to be a better option for people who get serious about receiving RSS feeds.

If you click on the B&J icon in the toolbar you’ll see the titles of available articles including this one. How’s that for recursion? The RSS readers provide more options for how this information is presented. The bottom line is that whether the feed is presented in a bookmark or a reader, any new content is immediately available to the user. Really simple syndication. You have your own noise-free channel directly to your readers.

Doesn’t that sound swell? The old Web is brochures. The new Web is conversations. RSS is a frictionless way of delivering conversations.

The next article: RSS Implementation for Marketers (the people who aren’t really going to do the work) talks about the things you should know before talking the Web people into “doing something about this RSS stuff.”