RSS: Really Simple Strategy
Unless you’re like me and you’re posting like a fiend to get your assignment done for your master’s class on time, you may not have as much of an opportunity to post on your website or blog every day.
On the flip side, are you overrun with blogs and news sites you frequent? For example, I just perused the Advertising Age Power 150 Blogs, and thought my head would spin with so many resources.
In either of these cases, why not consider an RSS feed?
Say what? If you’re not familiar with the acronym, you’re not alone.
More likely, you’re probably familiar with the little orange button you’ll see all over cyberspace.
The RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. According to its entry in Wikipedia (more on that below), “RSS is a family of web feed formats used to publish frequently updated works—such as blog entries, news headlines, audio, and video—in a standardized format.”
Pushing Data Out
The internet is hungry for fresh content. One of the simplest ways to get traffic via RSS is to use a blog. Each time you update your blog, the RSS feed will give readers a sample of your content and a link to your blog for more information.
Blogs sites (such as WordPress) are fairly user friendly tools, and can be a quick way to publish RSS feeds. By categorizing your blog by date and topic, RSS directories can be used to promote your blog.
Streamlining Data In
What about the information overload from so many newsources and blogs? RSS feeds allow you to choose to get update notifications delivered directly to you through a news reader of your choice (Google, Yahoo and Microsoft all offer these services).
You then select the Web sites from which you want to receive information and the content will be delivered automatically to your RSS reader.
Either if you are a reader or a marketer, RSS offers an efficient means to build an effective means of two-way communication. Companies are using RSS for a variety of reasons, ranging from public relations to one-click product deals
For a brief tutorial on creating an RSS in plain English, here’s a great YouTube video:
A word about Wikipedia:
Wikipedia is the free online encyclopedia that is open to the public for editing. The site was launched in 2001 and has grown to include millions of articles in a variety of languanges. There are significant concerns about the quality information that has an open architecture for editing. However, Wikipedia has become one of the most popular resources, and is reported as being the eighth most-visited Web site in the United States.
With real time editing, Wikipedia does not have a formal review process. As a result, every article can be called as accurate as those who have taken the time to write or edit it. Although Wikipedia (and the growing number of individual “wikis” for specific topics) continus to grow, research from an extra source is always a good idea to get your facts straight.
on December 27, 2009 on 5:43 pm
RE: RSS – Thank you, coldfeet, I always wondered what RSS stood for! Haven’t evolved from the webolutionary (can I say I invented that word??) warm tidal pool to the point where I have used it yet, but will probably start soon. As a new Twitter user (mostly follower) I am in fact overwhelmed with the sheer number of tweets from my chosen news sources (New York Times, NPR, CNN, etc.). The next step is to involve a news reader to possibly streamline the intake of info.
RE: Wikipedia – the best thing since indoor plumbing! It has become an indespensible part of life, right down to everyday conversation. When driving in the car and a question comes up about anything, my fiance pulls out her blackberry and…voila..question answered! The accuracy is, as far as I can determine when viewing topics with which I am reasonably conversant, quite good. And while it is possible to briefly mess with this accuracy, the self-policing nature of it assures that such shenanagins are short lived and quickly set right.
on December 28, 2009 on 7:42 pm
With wikis, it is a matter of reader beware, because just because you read or write it doesn’t make it true. I read about a similar issue on a fellow student’s post about Twitter, which now offers a verification service to prove that Tweets are really from the person the account is created for.
Here’s the link to the post I referred to. I would think something like that would help a wiki site.
http://mypetblog619.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/dont-believe-everything-you-tweet/
As far as RSS, I am just getting my “cold foot” wet about feeds. I still have much to learn, like fixing the link on my own feed. Much to learn still!
on February 1, 2010 on 3:29 am
I use Mass-Follow.com to submit my articles to like 400 places
on February 1, 2010 on 9:45 pm
Serita,
Thanks for the recommendation on mass-follow.com. I will be sure to check it out.