RSS, Not Just A Blogging Tool

by Mustafa Khundmiri

If you happen to be a blogger, you must be perfectly aware what role RSS (Really Simple Syndication) plays in the blogging world. This new way of sharing and distributing content has spread across the web like wildfire in the past few years. And blogs have played a major part in this dynamic growth, catapulting the technology in the stratosphere in a very short amount of time.

As more and more blogs are added to the World Wide Web (about "forty thousand" a day), RSS is fast becoming a tool religiously used by the majority of bloggers. However, it's very unlikely that blogs will be responsible for the future of RSS.

RSS In the Corporate World

There are bigger fishes to catch out there when it comes to RSS. Larger than life opportunities for RSS exist not in blogs but in the corporate sector. And as more and more web services join the RSS bandwagon offering syndication with a creative twist, there's no doubt that RSS can be used as far as imagination can go.

Companies, which previously ignored RSS as just another fad, have started to take notice of what it has to offer. A lot of big wigs in the e-commerce industry have started to have second thoughts about how content should be delivered to their clients and prospects. Many of the corporate as well start up companies have started to realize how beneficial it is for their customers and subscribers to receive content of their own choice. Since the consumer's choice undermines any other thing on the net, in future RSS would definitely be the driving force behind delivering quality content, seamlessly balancing it with consistency.

Coming back to blogs, the blogging era started with a bang and now you see bloggers everywhere, in the news or in your neighborhood. But webmasters are finding this activity time-consuming, as maintaining a quality blog is not just about content but about original and unique content. With new blogging tools and services springing up every other day, creating a blog is easy. But finding a USP for your blog and generating an income from it is getting much more difficult as the web gets crowded with more of these "online journals". Eventually blogs, which are promoting RSS in a big way, are going to suffer a setback in the near future, as many people switch back leaving most of the blogs deserted.

Simply Syndicating Your Business

RSS, on the other hand, will continue to add more avenues to the web, allowing web users to save time and energy and making the information more reachable. For the webmasters, RSS not only gives a better ROI (Return on Investment) but also gives an excellent ROTI (Return on Time Investment). It will help them to get the most out of their content by giving them the freedom to re-assort and combine their information for better productivity.

A web business using RSS to the maximum benefit will not only bring in more new visitors but also bring in traffic, which is laser-targeted. High conversion ratio accompanied with increased search engine ranking comes as part and parcel when RSS is used as a marketing medium.

RSS will thrive as a communication channel in the coming future and will help correspondence to reach a new level altogether with the enclosure tag. In the process, redefine how contacts are established. This will surely empower RSS to grow as a marketing tool.

With the type of flexibility RSS provides, the consumer's demands will undoubtedly surge and in turn fuel companies with more business ideas. Which makes the content produced more vast, effective and tightly themed with rich keywords. Not only that, an on going communication with the current prospects, yields in a better trust for the company and establishes a rock solid reputation among peer groups.

Centralizing the Web

With every passing day we see, businesses are starting to use RSS in different positive ways, making the information more centralized. Giving users the opportunity to find the right information at the right time at one place, rather than skimming across the Internet.

As consumers nowadays, have started to become choosy and selective about the content they want to read. The web is no longer random. RSS is slowly making it organized and theme-based. This is one of the major reasons RSS is going through an exponential phase of growth and will continue to do so. What makes really simple syndication useful today is the consumer himself. The strongest benefit a consumer derives from RSS is he/she controls the information he/she receives and is not bombarded with unsolicited messages. As the delivery system is totally opt-in, safe and effective. If at all the user feels that the feed's content is not up to the mark and the quality is declining, he/she can very easily remove the feed from his reader and not receive any future updates or messages.

RSS might not completely replace email in the future but it will definitely join in to be on the same level very soon. As the importance for content quality and delivery grows, RSS feeds will definitely have a higher priority with time.

On the last note, blogs may have helped in spreading the word about RSS and how useful it is. However, it will be the websites with new ideas and corporate companies, which will reap the benefits. RSS will help them find new revenue streams, build strong brand loyalty, acquire repeat customers and promote a continuous development. In the process, giving a fresh lease to new and old businesses.