Main challenge is getting the platform vendors (drupal, wordpress, MT, …) and feed/reader developers (google, blogbridge, feedburner) to agree on a decent standard that will enable additional features consistently

Main challenge is getting the platform vendors (drupal, wordpress, MT, …) and feed/reader developers (google, blogbridge, feedburner) to agree on a decent standard that will enable additional features consistently

I’m not a programmer, but have to work with several programmers – and so have caught on some of the logic.

How RSS+ would work is simple:

Create unique RSS links.

For example:

http://www.site.com/rss-00012.rss

If some one places that RSS feed in their reader, the database automatically creates a new RSS link:

http://www.site.com/rss-00013.rss

If some one places that RSS feed in their reader, the database creates another new RSS link – and so on.

But here is the personalization problem – to personalize, you have to get the name and other values. Your dentist can’t send you a personalized postcard without knowing your name. Most people use RSS because they can be anonymous. They won’t fill forms and give you their names just to access the RSS feed. Because that would then be just like email.

Even though RSS+ idea may not be the best for personalization, its a good idea for tracking. You could keep a track as to which “number” clicks on the links from which post…

I’m not a programmer, but have to work with several programmers – and so have caught on some of the logic.

How RSS+ would work is simple:

Create unique RSS links.

For example:

http://www.site.com/rss-00012.rss

If some one places that RSS feed in their reader, the database automatically creates a new RSS link:

http://www.site.com/rss-00013.rss

If some one places that RSS feed in their reader, the database creates another new RSS link – and so on.

But here is the personalization problem – to personalize, you have to get the name and other values. Your dentist can’t send you a personalized postcard without knowing your name. Most people use RSS because they can be anonymous. They won’t fill forms and give you their names just to access the RSS feed. Because that would then be just like email.

Even though RSS+ idea may not be the best for personalization, its a good idea for tracking. You could keep a track as to which “number” clicks on the links from which post…

Not terribly hard to do, but it would take RSS feed reader developers to get on board.

Anyone worried about privacy could still subscribe to vanilla RSS.

Not terribly hard to do, but it would take RSS feed reader developers to get on board.

Anyone worried about privacy could still subscribe to vanilla RSS.

I do agree with the other commentators, that RSS works quite well because it is fairly easy to use. Time has become such a precious denominator that people cut corners whenever they can. And when you make up your list of priorities, filling out an RSS-Customization form is probably not on the top of the list.

Could you develop a little more in what way you would personalize something like that if you had a chance to do it?

Thanks for the good thoughts.

I do agree with the other commentators, that RSS works quite well because it is fairly easy to use. Time has become such a precious denominator that people cut corners whenever they can. And when you make up your list of priorities, filling out an RSS-Customization form is probably not on the top of the list.

Could you develop a little more in what way you would personalize something like that if you had a chance to do it?

Thanks for the good thoughts.

I think many people are simply considering RSS to be a concept that should never be fancy. Ronald from http://www.ronalfy.com created a plugin that adds custom css styling to feeds, and some users did not like the idea. They said they love RSS feeds because of them being simple and the same like any other RSS feed, both visually and in actual implementation.

I like your example of the dentist and the catalogue; I think adding a personal name really adds value to a message: “Wow, this message is intended solely for me. I am a human being in their view, and not just another business transaction.”

Sorry, but I got a bit confused about something you wrote, maybe I need to reread it a few times. You said:

“How do you know on your blog, especially if you publish full feeds, if your subscribers are readers? Are they getting more involved or are you leaving them cold?”

If you have time please, could you explain this a bit more if possible? Do you mean personalization allows us to know if we have real humans reading feeds or if it’s only bots accessing our feeds? Or do you mean a way to track their personal usage of our feeds since we would know who they are if your ideas were implemented?

Thanks again for such a nice concept. RSS is wonderful, but it still isn’t something that has changed everything [I mentioned this latter part a while back on my site]. I myself still prefer e-mail newsletters, as they are easier to manage on some levels, and I can see updates on sites like yours while reading other important emails also.

I think many people are simply considering RSS to be a concept that should never be fancy. Ronald from http://www.ronalfy.com created a plugin that adds custom css styling to feeds, and some users did not like the idea. They said they love RSS feeds because of them being simple and the same like any other RSS feed, both visually and in actual implementation.

I like your example of the dentist and the catalogue; I think adding a personal name really adds value to a message: “Wow, this message is intended solely for me. I am a human being in their view, and not just another business transaction.”

Sorry, but I got a bit confused about something you wrote, maybe I need to reread it a few times. You said:

“How do you know on your blog, especially if you publish full feeds, if your subscribers are readers? Are they getting more involved or are you leaving them cold?”

If you have time please, could you explain this a bit more if possible? Do you mean personalization allows us to know if we have real humans reading feeds or if it’s only bots accessing our feeds? Or do you mean a way to track their personal usage of our feeds since we would know who they are if your ideas were implemented?

Thanks again for such a nice concept. RSS is wonderful, but it still isn’t something that has changed everything [I mentioned this latter part a while back on my site]. I myself still prefer e-mail newsletters, as they are easier to manage on some levels, and I can see updates on sites like yours while reading other important emails also.