One big happy brain - RSS

RSS is an acronym for “Real Simple Syndication” and is simply a way for you to get highly-compatible blobs of data out to the public in a format that many systems can read, XML.

One of the methods of using “incoming” RSS is to send out news snippits. Those on the receiving end can pick up these blobs and aggregate them into a single screen using a, what else, a RSS aggregator.

Once you get the hang of using RSS, it becomes rather obvious how you can use it for business. Staying well informed no longer requires wading through irrelevant news to find the nuggets you’re after, providing your queries are well written, and that you have the right feeds.

Setting up an RSS aggregator software (even Outlook, My Yahoo, and AOL home pages allow you to link to RSS) you can watch your competition, industry moves, and more. Done right, it filters out the noise and gets you what you need, updating itself as often as you want.

For web design and content management it has some very real implications. Activity in the marketplace may lead you to add to your FAQ list, or even to add a new page and Pay Per Click term. When a buzz happens, you can become a part of it “right now” and reap the benefits of that energy.

Example: Let’s say you are selling ABC jeans. You can set up an RSS feed searching the major news wires and entertainment feeds so that if a celebrity wears ABC jeans and someone tells the public what they’re wearing, you can be ready with keywords, pay visit terms, and a special page for them to find and shop on.

There’s gold in those hills!

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