We’ve noted before that RSS would be successful when it manages to fade into the background. Tools that allow users to move, manipulate, and aggregate feeds of content should become so integral to being online that users will be unaware that they are using a distinct, named technology.
New evidence this week shows that’s exactly what is happening. More people are using RSS in some way than are conscious of what it is. An Ipsos Insight study commissioned by Yahoo! shows that just 12 percent of Internet users are aware of RSS, and 4 percent have knowingly used RSS. The study also identified a class of Internet users as “Unaware RSS Users” – these are people who use customization features at sites like My Yahoo! or My MSN to integrate RSS feeds in a personalized environment, without understanding that they are using something called RSS.
When combining and managing feeds becomes just a natural way for users to organize their information environments, a technology like RSS is a success. Now if only marketers of other types of technology could get past marketing the technology and get on with marketing what the technologies do...
