I am enjoying this thread...quick thoughts, also take into account how the internet and services provide for the interpersonal sharing and viral sharing of content on the internet. For example, someone who is totally tuned into sports will still have a chat client or two running, and this leaves a channel open for them to encounter new "feeds" of content that people in their social network may send. Take for example a simple forwarded email for some petition protecting or rejecting some behavior, or a forward with a simple link for an organization raising funds for Tsunnami Relief. It doesnt matter so much if people are tuned into these things or not...it is the ability to spread the word...you may have a better chance to reach people to get them to take a specific action, and maybe this specific action will get them to add a channel, spread the channel, or look for more channels to share with their network.
I dont think it is so important that everyone go and download a news aggregator to get the most out of RSS, but use RSS in existing mediums like chat clients such as Messenger or Yahoo Chat, or build a new and better client that will let people get the most socially out of RSS, like letting them publish their feeds lists for friends, like the idea of Del.icio.us and social bookmarks. Services need to be improved and streamlined. Adding an RSS channel to a news aggregator seems like a very raw and initial form of the use of RSS, and a dead end. But using RSS in a more social manner to let people tap into their social networks and networks outside their immedaite surroundings could really help news spread, like you can do w- a web based aggregator like bloglines to publish your personal feeds or feeds related to a specific conference or event. Extending the ability to use a tool like messenger to let people easily cast various types of data to their social networks, and also letting them offer their lists of whatever type of information, like a personal classifieds list, will let people take advantage of RSS without the need to know what it is...like people use the internet and have no idea what http is or what html is. It is up to service providers to make RSS more useful and usable in the way that people use or will learn to use the internet, and using RSS in the most socially contagious (spreadable and sharable) manner may be consistent with the most useful and used tools like email and chat. I wrote some more about chat use and extending chat clients here: http://www.developmentseed.org/blog/?q=node/139 and here http://www.developmentseed.org/blog/?q=node/91 Best, Ian On Sun, 23 Jan 2005 12:21:57 -0500, Taran Rampersad <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > >Historically, the older readers are the more likely they are to read a > >newspaper. Certainly, this won't extend extensively to online journals, but > >online news readers undoubtedly will be older. And it's quite true that > >college-age students read little news, online or off. > > > > > Well, that history is based on a medium of paper. We won't really know > how things change for another 25 years... which is driving publishers of > content absolutely bonkers. > > -- > Taran Rampersad > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > http://www.linuxgazette.com > http://www.a42.com > http://www.worldchanging.com > http://www.knowprose.com > http://www.easylum.net > > "Criticize by creating." â Michelangelo > > _______________________________________________ > DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list > [email protected] > http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide > To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE > in the body of the message. > -- Ian Ward DÃyà mÃn gen mÃn. ~Haitian Proverb _______________________________________________ DIGITALDIVIDE mailing list [email protected] http://mailman.edc.org/mailman/listinfo/digitaldivide To unsubscribe, send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the body of the message.
