This entry is from Rico Mossesgeld, a contributor to Open Mic Friday.
I may have been into computers since I was 8, but I don’t multitask well. That’s why I try not to maintain more than 20 RSS feeds (mainly info I can use for my pro blog, The Smart PDA). As soon as I find a new website or blog I want to stay up-to-date with, goodbye feed. I try to keep the number down because like with e-mail, I simply just can’t resist opening an unread item. I don’t want to spend all my day reading articles that end up not being relevant to what I want.
My point is that people can handle only so many RSS feeds. If an item becomes uninteresting, good-bye. That’s I why I believe websites can benefit from advertising their RSS feeds. Instead of relying on text or image ads, they can simply present their most recent items, along with a link to the syndication.
Interesting headlines will not only gain new readers (and thus a bigger audience), but will also keep the site in people’s aggregator lists. Let’s say a reader decides to drop a feed, since he no longer finds the content interesting. But what if he comes across it again while surfing, and finds that he likes the newer entries? Will he be enticed to re-subscribe?
What do you think? The only bad thing I see about this is that “speeds” (spam feeds) might become more prevalent.
Stumble it!
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When I come home from a long day and see 600 unread items in my reader, I go, "ohhhhh crap". I only end up reading 50-100, depending on my energy level, and I only read the ones with catchy titles. (Well, I always read my friends' feeds... they have their own little folder and I do read them whether they promise to be interesting or not.) So yep, I agree.
side note: Now I'm feeling vast amounts of pressure to stay interesting. (thanks a lot) The thought of losing a reader when you only have 2 is horrible! :P
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Just let your writing flow. Things will get interesting on their own, as long as you have le passion.
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