RSS as a Change Agent

Author : Rok Hrastnik

Copyright 2005 Rok HrastnikTo better understand how RSS is changing the way companies and individuals deliver and consume content on the macro scale, let us first remember how content is traditionally delivered and consumed. People subscribe to e-mail newsletters or e-mail update services to get content delivered directly to their inboxes. It"s (or better yet, was) convenient, easy and simple.But, in order to get content delivered to their inboxes, they must first reveal their e-mail addresses, which are basically ID numbers that allow anyone who knows them to send whatever they like to these ID numbers. In a perfect world people would only receive the content that they requested and only from the people that they wanted to hear from --> the people that can provide them with relevant information, specific to their interests and current situation.But this is not a perfect world.Since the ID number allows anyone to contact anyone, people have very little control over who actually does contact them and what information they send them. In a way, it"s a perfect democracy that just doesn"t work. Because, in reality, we don"t want to hear from everyone that thinks they have something to say to us. In reality, we only want to hear from a very limited circle of people and receive very limited types of content categories.But, for the sake of the argument, let"s presume that we are actually getting information only from the people that we want to hear from. Unfortunately these people still have the power to send us whatever information they like, not just the information we want to receive from them. Basically, they have the power to push any kind of content to our e-mail inboxes. We can either unsubscribe, if they give us this opportunity, from their e-mail service or continue to receive their content as it is. One of the problems with this is that unsubscribing can be a rather tedious process, definitely not a two-click affair, and some people even doubt that the unsubscribe feature will actually work.This is our reality. We are, more or less, forced to receive content we mostly don"t want to receive, and for the content that we do want to receive, we also have to put up with much information we don"t want to get. This is the democratic nature of e-mail and many marketers and publishers have been abusing it for a long time. It"s not the medium"s fault of course; it"s just that people are who we are.And now enter RSS in to the picture, a new channel that users need to proactively add to their content consumption mix, including proactively adding content publishers they want to hear from, thus eliminating the democracy of e-mail, conversely, limiting our content diet only to the publishers we actually want to hear from.But there"s more. One of this channel"s characteristics is that it"s extremely easy to remove content publishers you don"t want to hear from.Now, all of us have very limited time for online content consumption. It"s always been this way, but with e-mail content consumption we usually don"t even bother ourselves with unsubscribing from the content we don"t want to receive, since we already receive hundreds of SPAM e-mails per day anyway, so why bother with unsubscribing from a few e-mail lists and the few additional e-mails we receive per week. Most people don"t even know anymore what they subscribe to since they have no unified view of all of their e-mail subscriptions.However, this new channel, RSS, is quite different. Here you have an exact view of what you subscribe to. You see exactly which content publishers are on your list and you can remove any of them immediately, without even a second thought. It"s quick, easy and comfortable.Compare this with the relative difficulty of unsubscribing from e-mail lists, and even with the e-mail mindset where you just don"t care to be bothered anymore with unsubscribing, since you don"t have a view of what you subscribe to anyway.This new channel takes the democracy right out of content delivery for publishers and brings it back for end-users.If RSS content publishers want to keep and grow their readership, they cannot afford to do the things they could have easily been doing with e-mail. Instantly, all the content needs to be highly relevant. You can no longer afford to send out blatant advertising messages or too much content that is of little interest to your target audience. If you want to survive you need to tailor all of your content specifically to the needs of your target audience.RSS content delivery must in nature be more relevant than content delivered by e-mail.RSS content publishers know this and most are providing exactly this, very relevant content, usually more relevant than what most e-mail publishers are doing, since they are taking in to consideration the specific characteristics of the channel. And there are more publishers like this every day. And eventually, even those that use both e-mail and RSS to deliver content, change the way they are delivering content using e-mail. Their entire content production becomes more relevant to the user"s needs.It"s quite easy to imagine the larger-scale implications of this.Since more and more publishers are starting to offer more relevant content, that also raises the bar for other content publishers, even those not using RSS. Our expectations are increasing every day. We are no longer content with mediocre content, we actually expect and even demand more relevancy.And so the circle is completed. Early RSS publishers have started raising our expectations of what to expect from internet content and have thus affected our internet content consumption habits. Users, in affect, are starting to demand more, which in turn forces other publishers to comply with the increased demands. This process has just begun and still has a long way to go, but it has begun and will not stop.


About the author:

Rok Hrastnik is the author of Unleash the Marketing & Publishing Power of RSS, acclaimed as the best and most comprehensive guide to RSS for marketers by leading RSS experts. The complete guide on RSS for marketers: http://rss.marketingstudies.net/index.html?src=sa12

Category : Online Business

Body Building Supplements That Build Your Body

Author : Clarence Carter

While majority of the population are tackling obesity, but you are one of those who is on lookout for gaining weight. Yes obesity is a health risk and but is the lean and thin body type a good thing? Health wise lean and thin is better than being obese but having a perfect body is still better than lean and thin body.For that doing exercises and maintaining a healthy diet regimen can serve the purpose. But doing exercises alone would not help someone get the body he aspires for. To get that physical feature an individual also needs to have body building supplements and a protein rich dieting program. Most of the food supplements are not main meals but some of them available today are meal replacement powders. More popular body muscle supplements have Protein, Calcium, Phosphorus, Chloride, Copper, Manganese, Zinc, Micro-Lactin, vitamins and other nutrients as its major ingredients. These minerals are necessary to grow muscles or rejuvenate the affected muscles.Body building supplements cannot help you gain a healthy body if you are not dieting and training correctly. These supplements give you the much needed nutrients quickly which helps in increasing strength and decreasing time to rejuvenate the muscles. Vitamins and amino acids help in minimising the side effects of weight training and speeds up the recovery process of the muscles.How long can you go on having liquids, fruits and vegetables? There comes a time when you start carving for something else. To gain muscle one needs to have more than what a normal dietary habit can provide. Body building supplements are there to provide you a cheap solution for your nutritional need.These body building supplements are safe and some offers free samples of their products and if the sample supplements work for you then you can buy it. Body building supplements are a craze in the US and UK amongst the people with lean and thin body type. An individuals body type can be differentiated into various types and genetic factor is the determinant factor which decides it. If your parents have small body frame it is certain that you too would have small body frame. But before taking body grow supplements one should consult a weight trainer. He is right person to advise you on what kind of minerals are required by you to gain weight. He or she can decide your nutritional supplement when you provide him the correct information on your diet habit. Following a healthy diet habit coupled with exercises and body building supplement can get you the desired result.So, leave your past behind and enjoy the healthy future ahead. But make sure that in an effort to gain weight you do not put on too much of it as too much of it would lead you to Obesity. And obesity is a future health risk. Clarence Carter received training as a healthcare scientist. She has been working in the same field and writes informative articles, weight loss being her pet subject. To find Body building supplements, Weight loss drug,Obesity, Diet pills, Rimonabant Acomplia, Phentermine Diet Pills visit http://www.weight-loss-drug.co.uk

Category : General Weight Loss

Lessons We Learned From Terri Schiavo

Author : Dr. Mel Glazer
Let's talk about Terry Schiavo, since her death illustrated for me many aspects of grief and hope. Who among us was not moved by the drama of her last days? I know I was. Her death was not the way I would want my own death to be. When my time comes, I want no heroic measures, since for me they simply postpone the inevitable. And watching the family feud that took place between her husband and her parents, with all the tension and the anger, saddened me terribly. Peace should be the last emotion Terry felt, but who knows if she heard only the angry words passed between those she loved. No one should have to die as she did.What a shame. At the same time, look at the two different approaches to grief presented to us, one by her husband Michael and the other by her parents the Schindlers. Michael was clearly ready to "lay her gently down," he was prepared to move on with his new life and to "begin again" with his fiancee and two young children. Some say he was ready a bit too soon, but I disagree. Grief takes as long as it needs, there is no clock for the soul. Her parents, on the other hand, were clearly unable to give her up yet. It is understandable that parents would be so protective of their kids, and I don't know what I would do if, God forbid, one of my own kids was in a similar state.I am not judging, just pointing out the differences in style and approach in this wrenching drama. For Terri's parents, despite how they may feel now, they must know that there is still hope for them. There is a new future which they will soon help create; there will be new challenges for them and their family which they cannot yet know. When you are grieving, you often lose sight of the future, because the present is so draining. But no matter what has been taken from you there is hope. They still have each other and they still have a life in front of them. I certainly pray that they will find healing and consolation, and that Terri's memories will bring them peace.
Category : Self-Improvement:Grief-Loss

Quick Smart Cleaning - The Lounge

Author : Barry Hynd

In our very first quick smart cleaning guide we look at how you
can clean your lounge area in fifteen minutes.

Now, you're probably thinking that a fifteen-minute clean just
isn't possible. Not only is it possible, though, it's also
highly desirable: it can be a very long day when yu have to
work, look after the kids and take care of all of the household
chores, too: hopefully we can show you how to save a little but
of time which you can then spend however you want.

First of all before we start you'll need some sort of basket or
bag. This is to put non-lounge items in. It would also be good
if you could have a duster to hand and also a vacuum cleaner or
a brush. OK, are you ready?

Take a look around the room to find any items that don't belong
in the lounge. Put these in your basket or bag and put it to one
side. The settee is next: brush down all the cushions and check
down the backs for any foreign items. Brush any dirt straight
onto the floor.

Brush down the coffee table next and arrange anything that is on
it. Put away any books or magazines in the rack or under the
coffee table.

Grab that vacuum cleaner or brush and set about doing the floor
area. Forget about moving the furniture, it's been a long day;
you can come back to this when you have more time.

Take a look around: it's probably looking far less cluttered.
Put away your cloth and your vacuum cleaner or brush and take a
deep breath. You're done!

If you do have a few spare minutes left take the container and
put all the non-lounge items back in their proper places. It
only takes a few minutes and will save you time the next day.

This quick fifteen-minute routine will help to de-stress you,
and allow you time to put your feet and relax, maybe have a look
and see what's on TV or pick up a good book. It's important to
remember that you need "me" time and while this routine does not
go in-depth with the cleaning it's a sure fire way of helping
you to get time for yourself.

Category : Time Management

Why to Choose Paid Hosting Instead of Free?

Author : Jeffrey Haber

Many of you faced with the question today of having a web site. And after developing your site you will probably starting to find good free hosting.What's the catch with the free hosting providers?There is nothing in this world for free. Ask yourself a question - how do they survive?They have to pay for servers, bandwidth, server software and got no income?The answer is - advertising, yeah they place an ads on your site and usually have a tracking tools to decidewhether traffic on your site click on their ads and generate income or not. If not do not be surprised your account closed.- Free hosting companies usually place their own ads on your site.- There are some free hosting companies that do not place an ads but if you get some traffic on your site your free provider may close your account and place his own page with ads instead of your site.- PHP, CGI, Perl and many other tech tools are disabled.- You have very limited disk space and limited bandwidth.- You have not memorized by others address like /freehoster.com/somedir/~youraccount- You don't have useful tools like Site builder, add-on scripts which some paid hosting companies offer for free.- You don't have email address similar as your account name.- A lot of free hosts change their Terms without warning you. - Because they are offering free hosting, the majority of them can not afford to offer 24/7 or any support.- Very few free web hosts offer a control panel with their plans.With pay host you eliminate all this inconveniences except one - it's not free.I know this is not simple step to decide to pay for hosting. So if you need just informationpage for your friends then free hosting option is right for you. But if this is your presentationsite or you plan to do some business and need tools like PHP, CGI etc... I'd recommend to take a look at paid hosting companies. Jeffrey Haber is a working manager and online publisher in ArtFortHost affordable hosting company also runs www.hqhosts.com a directory of quality low cost hosting providers.

Category : General Web Hosting

Methods for emergency contraception

Author : Olivia Andrews

Many women today want to hold their pregnancy or they look for a planning and because of this they take help of birth control pills. A birth control pill is an effective means to avoid unwanted pregnancy each time after having an intercourse.There are various forms of birth controls methods found such as condoms, contraceptive patches or contraceptive pills. Other methods include contraceptive sponge, vaginal ring, diaphragm or other fertility awareness methods. Amongst these, oral contraceptive pills are found to be quite effective and much in used by women around the world. A contraceptive pill contains the hormones estrogen and progesterone that prevent pregnancy. Broadly classified there are four types of pills known as combined pills that are normally used on a daily basis. An emergency control pill helps to avoid unwanted pregnancy when there has been an unprotected intercourse but this pill has to be taken within three days of the act. Others include mini pill and phased regime pills that are not much common in use. Emergency contraceptive or "morning after" pill can be also said to be a backup method to prevent pregnancy but it should not be used in routine. There are chances that while using a condom it broke or a woman fails to take the hormonal birth control pill on time then emergency control pill is very effective if taken within 72 hours of the intercourse. While taking an emergency control pill some women can have their period earlier or later than the usual cycle. The main difference between a combination pill and an emergency pill is that it holds larger amount of levonorgestrel that works to avoid pregnancy. Emergency contraceptives such as plan b should be used within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse. The first dose should be taken as soon as possible after unprotected intercourse, and the second dose is taken 12 hours later. The sooner it is used, the more effective it is.For more information upon emergency contraception please visit our website http://www.benzer11.com/planb.html Olivia Andrews, writing for http://www.benzer11.com/planb.html

is a freelance journalist and has written many reviews on subjects such as finance, education, health, entertainment, music, gifts, crafts, travel, apparels and mobile phones.

Category : General Medical: Pharmaceuticals

Fine Art Supplies

Author : Seth Miller

Fine art is any kind of aesthetic expression, communication, or expression. In ancient times painting and sculpture were two examples of fine art. The term fine art, according to the encyclopedia, was coined in 1767 and referred to objects of beauty that appealed to taste. Today the term encompasses murals, installations, tapestry making, terracotta work, photography, and more.An artist gives expression to his muse using either paints, clay, cloth, wood, thread, stone, iron strips or any other material that may catch his eye. Many centuries ago artists used materials that existed around himwood pieces brought in by the waves, rock surfaces, the walls of his home, or the walls of caves, ceilings of churches and other places of worship. Now fine art supplies encompass specially manufactured adhesives, paper, canvas, paints, tools, kilns, potters wheels, easels, art books, instructional videos, lighting, brushes, and studio furniture.Products are manufactured at two levels for use by children and amateurs and for use by professional artists. The ones for use by amateurs are cheaper but of a lower standard than those manufactured for professional use. There are manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and online stores devoted solely to the business of fine art supplies.The first stores were established as early as the 17th century and have moved with the times, going from single outlets to chain stores, to wholesale distribution, and now to online stores where artists can order materials, view catalogues, look up special discounts and promos, and more. Some websites host forums and classifieds, and announce art shows as well as courses. Business has come a long way from selling a brush or tube of paint, to encompass the world of fine art in its many forms and needs. Art Supplies provides detailed information on Art Supplies, Art Supply Stores, Wholesale Art Supplies, Fine Art Supplies and more. Art Supplies is affliated with Flash Animation.

Category : General Art & Entertainment