The Mysterious RSS
Here is more evidence that RSS still needs to be more accessible to the mainstream user:
“Nielsen//NetRatings polled 1,000 members of its research panel who read blogs. It found that nearly two-thirds of the respondents either never heard of RSS (Really Simple Syndication) or did not know what the technology is used for.”
Clearly, RSS needs to be simplified and demystified. I also find that most people I speak with about blogging and podcasting and the web in general either haven’t heard of it, or have, but dont have a clue as to what it is or how to embrace it. When it truly becomes as simple as “one click” for subscribing to a feed, we are there, and it looks as if the new Windows Vista will speed up the adoption of RSS to the mainstream. You can check out the full article here.
August 18th, 2005 at 7:37 pm
I think these survey’s don’t really get it though. I mean for geeks it’s important to know what RSS is. For the common user they just need to understand how the application of what it does works, but they don’t need to know the technology behind it. For instance, nobody in the world who uses an Email client has any idea about RFC 822 or the formatting of mail messages. I think Vista should be a big step.
August 19th, 2005 at 4:40 am
Good point Ian - sometimes I get wrapped up in the “geekdom” of everything. I myself am sort of in between - not too techy to the point of writing code, but not layman enough not to understand what RSS is and how it works, moreover how its transforming the way people use the web. Interestingly enough, I find myself sometimes too deep in one work or the other
thanks for the comment!
-G