Welcome to the second issue of the Melcrum Social Media Newsletter

It’s impossible to get excited about the phrase "really simple syndication" (RSS). To most it just seems like another geeky term that doesn’t really make sense to anyone not up to their neck in computer code.

However, help does appear to be at hand, or at least on the horizon. In their most up-to-date versions, all three of the main web browsers now available for desktop PCs – so that’s Microsoft Internet Explorer version 7, Mozilla Firefox version 2 and Apple Safari version 2 – now use RSS feeds symbolised with this logo.

What’s more, Internet Explorer has ditched the “RSS” moniker and now simply refers to RSS feeds as “webfeeds” which will go some way to making the concept a whole lot more appealing.

Still not convinced by ”webfeeds”? Ok, Intranet expert Bill Ives has an alternative explanation for RSS. Think of RSS as “Tivo for your desktop.” In one click, you can subscribe to a channel of your choice and relevant information will flow through that channel to you without any further effort from you. You can read it as and when you have time and subscribe or unsubscribe to exactly what you want to read.

In a corporate environment, this means employees can subscribe to information channels relevant to them – no more being bombarded with mass e-mails that are of absolutely no interest whatsoever.

If your organization sends out 20 mass-emails a day with the topics ranging from social events to critical executive news and you’re worried nobody is reading either, then RSS/webfeeds can help.

Offer two feeds – one for social events and one for executive news – and let your employees subscribe to the one that interests them. 

Best regards,

Alex Manchester,
Editor
alex.manchester@melcrum.com



P.S. Follow the link for all the latest information about Melcrum's Social Media Forum for Internal Communicators, happening in London, March 22-23.

Further FREE reading from Melcrum:

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• Warning: texting and e-mails can be as damaging as drugs