Article: On more and more web sites you're starting to see "Syndicate this site" or buttons allowing you to subscribe to "RSS Feeds" all over the web.

What Does It All Mean?
So what exactly is this "RSS" thing? What is "syndication", and why should you "syndicate content"? Because we are about to hit what Malcom Gladwell calls a "Tipping Point".

RSS Is Just Like Television
If you're like me, you don't watch television without TiVo anymore. Think of RSS as "TiVo for the internet". It's time for us to wrest control back from the internet marketers.

RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication" and it allows you to anonymously get any internet content you want (articles, newsletters, blogs, news, weather, etc.) at your convenience. Syndicate (subscribe to) that content and it just shows up wherever you want. Want it in Outlook? No problem. Want to add it to your internet homepage like My Yahoo! or My MSN? No sweat. Click and go.

At Your Convenience
TiVo frees you from the tyranny of a network's programming department. You subscribe to your favorite television shows and then watch at your convenience.

RSS frees you from the tyranny of internet marketing departments. You merely "tune in" to "syndicate" the content you want (a "feed") and it just shows up automatically.

TiVo changes the channel on your television at the right time to get to a particular program. RSS surfs the internet at the right time to get new content from particular sites you like.

You subscribe to newsletters, articles of interest, blogs, even audio and video content and have it all appear on your homepage or in your iPod. You don't have to keep checking with various sites for updated information. The new stuff just shows up when it's published. Automatically download audio to your iPod the next time you connect. Listen at your convenience.

Protect your Identity
Have you ever subscribed to a newsletter and then all of a sudden your inbox is jammed with ads for prescriptions, porn, and mortgages? Privacy policies aside, somebody gave out your email address - and anything else you might have provided on their "sign up" form.

You don't have to "sign up" for television programs. You aren't required to give the producers of Law and Order® your personal information just to be granted the right watch their show. Television producers do not know specifically who is tuned in to their program. They rely on market surveys (the Nielson Ratings) to identify the demographics of their viewers.

Why do the producers of internet content think they deserve all sorts of personal information before giving you the content they are producing?

With RSS you never have to divulge your email address just to get that newsletter or other interesting content that you want from the web, it just shows up on your homepage.

When you press the button, you can add the Marketing Strategies Blog to your My Yahoo! homepage. (If you use press this button.) New entries just show up on your homepage. Automatically. You don't have to do a thing. It's like TiVo remembering to record your favorite shows.

"How does it get into Outlook without knowing my email address?"
Just like you need a television to watch TV programs, TiVo to record your shows, and a mail reader to check email, you need an "RSS reader" to get RSS feeds. The good news is, you already have one ~ probably more than one.

makes Outlook your RSS Reader. (Microsoft has incorporated an RSS reader into the latest release of Outlook.) Your internet homepage like MSN or Yahoo! can be your RSS Reader, and there are many RSS Readers like online that are free or low cost.

With NewsGator, you receive new content that looks just like email, but you never gave out your email address to subscribe. Behind the scenes, Outlook scans for updates to your subscribed content ("syndicated feeds") on your behalf, in exactly the same way it looks for mail addressed to you. The new entries are then displayed for you in an Outlook folder.

RSS = Complete Privacy
You never tell an internet marketer a thing about yourself to read RSS delivered content. They won't even know that you're "tuned in". You get the content you want, absolutely free, in complete privacy.

No More Unsubscribe
Have you ever hit the "unsubscribe" button in the spam you receive? Did you have much confidence that you'd be removed, or that they wouldn't sell your information?

With television, if you decide to stop watching Survivor®, you aren't required to talk with CBS, you just change the channel. The same thing happens when you "syndicate an RSS Feed" (subscribe to internet content). You are completely in charge. If the newsletter isn't that great or starts being an unrelenting stream of ads, all you have to do is delete the feed from your list. In Yahoo! or MSN it's as simple as clicking the X in the corner of the box. WHAM! No more annoying ads. You are instantly unsubscribed.

No More Spam
Because you get content without giving up your email address, there is no possibility you can get any spam. The publisher "broadcasts" their content, and subscribers receive them. You specify the "channel" (RSS Feed URL) that you want and it will stream directly (and anonymously) to your homepage or to a folder in Outlook. It's just like when you watch television.

Take Control
There are many RSS Feeds available, on topics covering everything from travel tips to sales strategies and more are being added every day. There are newsletters and blogs and articles for you to read. If you are subscribed to internet newsletters, ask the publisher to make it available through RSS. Before you sign up for the next newsletter, look for the "Syndicate" link.

Let RSS help you sort through this content the same way TiVo helps you sort through television content.

Chris Ellington gives effective and easy to implement marketing strategies to small business owners and home business entrepreneurs. His Simplified Selling System has been a favorite of salespeople around the world. Get your free marketing strategies at www.simplifiedselling.com.

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Category: Business Articles

Date: May 6, 2005

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