Written by: Matthew Hile 7/26/2006 5:18 AM
I work a lot with folks who are able to use a computer for things like email, word processing, and web browsing. More to the point, my work is to create web sites that these sorts of folks can use. One of the technologies I actively promote is Real Simple Syndication (RSS). Invariably, when ever I mention this the first response is "What?" Skeptic's blog Dead2.0 asked a real user, his mother, What is RSS? After a quick Google search her response, "I just don’t have a clue!"Dave Winer's comment to that post had a really nice description.When people ask me what RSS is good for, I start with “automated web surfing.” It gets you more news for the time you put into using the Internet. If you don’t want more news then RSS is probably not for you. But if there are subjects (that) you are intensely interested in, and if the people covering the topics also offer the information in RSS form, then your computer (or a web site) can make web surfing a richer and perhaps more productive experience.So I think that this is a good place to start but I will continue my search for a way to tell/show real users the possibilities and benefits of RSS.
When people ask me what RSS is good for, I start with “automated web surfing.” It gets you more news for the time you put into using the Internet. If you don’t want more news then RSS is probably not for you. But if there are subjects (that) you are intensely interested in, and if the people covering the topics also offer the information in RSS form, then your computer (or a web site) can make web surfing a richer and perhaps more productive experience.
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