Why your site must be RSS enabled in 2006
December 28, 2005
During 2006, Really Simple Syndication (RSS) will become the topic du jour on many websites. There is a simple reason for this. Microsoft is getting into this game in a big way. This is a very big deal because at present RSS enabled sites (of which this but one), represent a tiny fraction of all websites (less than 10%) on the planet. But I think that’s set to explode.
RSS makes information discovery and selection so much easier than current search engines do. Microsoft is talking about incorporating directly RSS into Outlook. You can already do that with NewsGator but not many people know. I can get RSS feeds in My (personalised) Yahoo! portal. This is dramatically reducing the number of email notifications I need to scan for site updates.
Those sites that do not embrace RSS will quickly find they lose their audiences and relevance. Those that do will find they are under scrutiny like never before. It will mean a shifting of the way in which influence is both earned and distributed. I am already finding this through having readers to this site from around the world. What does that say for the message you put onto your websites? Does it for instance mean that now you can see the way you are differentiated from others?
What about your location status? I have a ‘map’ of visitors onto this site. Over time, I will be able to gather demographics from this data. I will in other words know exactly what appeals to whom, when and how they consume information and so will be best placed to shape the way forward. Both in terms of content and delivery mechanisms. What about you? What do you know about your audience you could usefully use to shape practice development?
What about a timeframe for this? 18 months max. After then? You’re dead, extinct or both. And by then RSS will have disappeared from our thinking to being one of the research facts of life we daily employ.
Podcasting reaches mainstream French politics
December 28, 2005
Loic Lemeur scored a bullseye just prior to the holiday period when he secured a video podcast interview with Nicolas Sarkozy , the French law and order minister who has aspirations of taking over the French presidency from Jacques Chirac.
It would be easy to pass this off as a publicity stunt, sucked up by the gullible. After all, Sarkozy is not exactly camera shy and Lemeur chose not to press Sarkozy on issues of importance. But that would be to miss the point. BusinessWeek Online provided coverage and analysis , noting that:
"Not only is it the first-ever podcast by a French political leader, it also marks a startling break with customary etiquette, as Sarkozy and Le Meur address each other with the familiar "tu" rather than "vous" during their 30-minute meeting. "Bravo!" read many of the hundreds of viewer commentaries posted on Le Meur’s blog over the past few days. Many are heralding the interview as a watershed event, showing that French politicians can no longer afford to ignore the growing importance of nontraditional media"
It matters not whether Lemeur did a good interviewing ‘job’ or otherwise. He has proven the technology has power and impact. That’s the point. The fact it has happened in France is testament to the way this medium has been both promoted and adopted - almost single handedly by Lemeur. It won’t be long before the same happens in the UK. It will be interesting to see whether the US picks up on this.
No: 168 and counting down…
December 28, 2005
Here’s an interesting ‘fact.’ According to Podcast Alley - my CitySlickrs podcast show reached no: 168 in November/December, 2005. So I’ve probably slid ignominiously down the ‘list.’ Until the next time 
Sounds like a failed record in the UK Top 40 record chart show. Until you realise I was competing with 8,000+ others. No point in searching now, the ratings get updated regularly and I’ve not posted a podcast since December 16th. But I’m sure you’ll find it.
If I can make it into the Top 100 that quickly with virtually ZERO publicity and marketing costs - then what could you do? The analysis around that is for another day in the New Year when I’ll be posting more mad ideas.
If you’d like to find shows I’ve produced then click here.
Stubbing your SOX toes - Microsoft style
December 27, 2005
Sometimes bloggers screw up big time and then we get to find out whether the so-called blogosphere is a talking shop in miniature or wether it has real influence. Today is one of those days. In a post about Google but which discussed the issue of RSS feeds, Microsoft uber-blogger Robert Scoble said:
"Yeah, we’re doing our own in Office 12, but let’s be honest, how long will it be before that gets to more than 50% usage? I’d guess 2010. And even then there are lots of people who’ll still have Outlook 2003, and older Outlook clients, who’ll need to read feeds."
I pounced on this. Since when was Scoble the self-appointed sales forecast person at MSFT? Must be a new position. OK - so I’m assuming Scoble has some inside research track others don’t. Is he divulging a material event for the purposes of Section 404. Sarbanes-Oxley Act?
When questioned about the predictive quality of the post, Scoble comes back with:
"Dahowlett: actually, I think uptake on this version will be a lot faster than that, but I wanted to be very conservative."
Which is it ‘honest’ or ‘conservative?’
So let’s take this a step further. All those that think Scoble has triggered a 404 event, vote by leaving a comment. (Apart from the fun value, I’ll find out if anyone a: actually reads this over Christmas and b: if anyone knows how to apply 404 in these circumstances and c: what lessons there are to learn for those who are thinking about using this as a communications medium.)
More seriously from a practice perspective, let’s assume you’ve got a handle on making a difference in a chosen market - do you really want your junior staff dictating the conversation around the value this service delivers? It’s a real risk.
