We need a great metaphor to explain RSS
Over on my Ask Dave Taylor Q&A blog, I received a most interesting question that I believe is a good example of just what's wrong with the state of RSS and, perhaps, is one of the great challenges facing the blogosphere too:
"I know this is a really stupid question, but how do I go about subscribing to your blog? Does subscribing to your blog mean that I would be subscribing to an RSS feed? If so, how do I get hold of an RSS feeder? I have Internet Explorer 6. Can I handle an RSS feed with IE6? Or does subscribing to your blog mean that I would receive an email from you every time there is a new entry to your blog?"
There's a lot about this question that I find interesting, not the least of which is that it reflects the never-ending exclusionary aura of the tech savvy and "tech stupid". But even in the more mundane world of the Web as it exists today there's a lot here to chew on.
Those of us mired in the blogging space often forget how confusing and difficult most of the technology - and jargon - really can be for people who are coming into it without experience.
This is hardly a stupid question at all, actually, but a reflection of the fact that...
"I know this is a really stupid question, but how do I go about subscribing to your blog? Does subscribing to your blog mean that I would be subscribing to an RSS feed? If so, how do I get hold of an RSS feeder? I have Internet Explorer 6. Can I handle an RSS feed with IE6? Or does subscribing to your blog mean that I would receive an email from you every time there is a new entry to your blog?"
There's a lot about this question that I find interesting, not the least of which is that it reflects the never-ending exclusionary aura of the tech savvy and "tech stupid". But even in the more mundane world of the Web as it exists today there's a lot here to chew on.
Those of us mired in the blogging space often forget how confusing and difficult most of the technology - and jargon - really can be for people who are coming into it without experience.
This is hardly a stupid question at all, actually, but a reflection of the fact that...
posted by Dave Taylor at
4:09 PM
