Have you noticed the new header image on this web site? Notice “radiating symbol?” That symbol is a variation of the standard symbol for “RSS” which can stand for Really Simple Syndication, Rich Site Summary or some have used a more user friendly term of “Ready for Some Stories.” RSS is the backbone of what makes blogging and podcasting truly functional. Without RSS you would have to go directly to web sites to download mp3 files instead of having them come to you as new ones are released. I also hold the opinion that a blog is not a “real blog” unless it has an RSS feed so people can subscribe to it.

So yes, RSS is a technology that has made blogging and podcasting popular but we realize that it has much greater potential for delivering information. We also realize that a lot of businesses may not be that interested in “business blogging” or podcasting but they do want to deliver new information to the clients in order to get new sales or in the case or non-profit organizations, donations or a call to action.

We see a future where combining multimedia, portable devices and RSS will be the preferred way of receiving information as time marches on because people do not like to be restricted to even using a laptop computer as portable as it is. Recently SpinningSilk Multimedia added an iPhone to our “tool set” and are looking at other cutting edge mobile devices for our workforce. Maybe RSS will evolve into something different or even adapt a different name but the principle of giving people the opportunity to subscribe to your information stream stands.

Personally I could care less if the name RSS changes. I love the technology but I hate the term as it adds a layer of complexity when trying to explain it to others and why they should adopt it. People however are starting to use the technology without know all the nuts and bolts of what RSS is. If they subscribe to a podcast in iTunes they are using RSS. If you have customized a portal page like My Yahoo or iGoogle you are using RSS. Some people have even dropped e-mail newsletter subscriptions in favor of subscribing to a blogs RSS feed.

I recently read a good article at Contentious.com about RSS Feeds getting more mainstream. If you use RSS to distribute information what is your experience with users? If you are new to the technology and still don’t get what we are talking about then how can we help you “get it?” For the record it took me a while to “get it” but when I finally did I wondered how I went so long without it.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 3rd, 2007 at 9:00 am and is filed under Internet, Portable Media, RSS, Tips, blogging. 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.