RSS, which stands for Real Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on whom you ask, is being heralded as the electronic delivery channel of the future. Many online publishers, large and small, are already using RSS to distribute their editorial content. 

Is it really the future? Honestly, I don’t know (I wish I did!). But if you’re publishing electronically -- be it via email or on the Web you owe it to yourself to look into it. That’s exactly what I’ve been doing, trying to decide whether to create an RSS version of my email newsletter, The Jennings Report. This is a quick overview of what I’ve learned – and I’ve included at the end of this article a link to a special issue of my newsletter, which goes into more detail and provides hands-on resources for each of these areas. 

Five Reasons to Go RSS

1. Avoid spam filters
RSS, although electronic, does not flow through the email channel, so it is not impeded by spam filters -- no more ‘false positives’ when a requested email is incorrectly tagged as spam. This is one of the primary reasons publishers have embraced RSS.

2. Avoid inbox traffic jams
Another related benefit of RSS is that the reader designates where the content will be delivered – so you can avoid the over-crowded inbox, where requested emails are often overlooked or mistakenly deleted because they’re mixed in with unwanted communications.

3. No More Opt-in / Opt-out Issues
In its current form, there’s no opt-in/opt-out debate surrounding RSS – because the only way a reader can receive an RSS content feed is to request it proactively (which is opt-in in its purest form). Unlike email, there’s no question of whether the feed is unsolicited, and publishers can be sure that all their RSS readers are people who truly want to receive the content.

4. Low Barriers of Entry for Readers
Your readers will need to download special software in order to retrieve and read your RSS-formatted content. The good news, for publishers and subscribers alike, is that: (a) there are a number of companies offering RSS software programs and (b) they are inexpensive (sometimes even free). They come in MAC, PC and Web-based versions so readers shouldn't be challenged to find one that works. For a list of RSS software programs, see the ‘Want to Learn More?’ section at the end of this article.

5. Low Barriers of Entry for Publishers
If you’re publishing electronically already, moving to RSS won’t be a huge change. The easiest way is to use some of the newer blogging tools that automatically create RSS feeds for you. Alternatively, if you or someone at your organization is adept at HTML, there is code you can add to your HTML to shift to RSS. Finally, if you aren’t adept at HTML, don’t lose faith. With just a little time spent getting up to speed, you can create an RSS feed. For a list of resources to help you, again, see the ‘Want to Learn More?’ section at the end of this article.

Who’s Already on the Bandwagon
I was surprised to learn how many publishers, both large and small, are already offering RSS feeds. Here’s a very brief sample: ABC News, Advertising Age, Business 2.0, Lockergnome, Mountain View High School, New York Times, SurfNetKids.com and Variety.com.