Keeping up with websites can be time consuming. RSS feeds are a relatively new feature which lets people keep up to date with the latest information on their favourite sites without having to take the trouble to visit them all.
An RSS feed is a summary of the latest additions to a website and your PC lets you know when new feed becomes available. You can then click through and visit the website and read the full version.
No-one is really sure what RSS stands for but the most people agree on Really Simple Syndication.
RSS is also an international standard, and is rapidly growing in popularity. It is becoming more popular because it makes keeping up to date with the sites you like quick and easy.
More and more organisations are utilising RSS as a PR tool as it means if people choose to receive an RSS feed from their site then they are more likely to see their latest news release or report. There are some in the PR industry who see this as a negative impact on the PR industry. But I think it means that PR people will have to focus more on niche markets rather than the mainstream so they will maybe have to work harder and smarter but it won't put them out of business entirely.
Sunday, 3 December 2006
Monday, 27 November 2006
Blogging
There are approximately 57 million blogs according to recent figures by Technorati (http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000443.html). Given that this figure by far exceeds newspaper circulations it makes sense that PR people are jumping on this technological bandwagon to try and gain more exposure for their clients.
So what are the benefits of blogging? And will it spell the end for traditional media?
Blogging enables companies to inform and educate their audiences and to be able to manage issues as they arise. They are great for creating dialogues with potential customers as well as a good way of gleaning consumer insights about your company. It also cuts out the middle-man who is able to question and change what you say – the journalist.
However, it does only take one person with a complaint or a grudge against your company and before you know it you have lots of angry customers on your hands. These complaints don’t just disappear either. Lots of hits means good search engine optimisation and complaints can hang around on the internet for a very long time.
As newspaper circulation figures fall and computer usage – especially amongst young people – rises, can we expect to start seeing newspapers folding? The latest newspaper ABC figures certainly go some way in supporting this (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,1782,00.html) and it will be worth keeping an eye on the Technorati figures to see how this trend progresses.
So what are the benefits of blogging? And will it spell the end for traditional media?
Blogging enables companies to inform and educate their audiences and to be able to manage issues as they arise. They are great for creating dialogues with potential customers as well as a good way of gleaning consumer insights about your company. It also cuts out the middle-man who is able to question and change what you say – the journalist.
However, it does only take one person with a complaint or a grudge against your company and before you know it you have lots of angry customers on your hands. These complaints don’t just disappear either. Lots of hits means good search engine optimisation and complaints can hang around on the internet for a very long time.
As newspaper circulation figures fall and computer usage – especially amongst young people – rises, can we expect to start seeing newspapers folding? The latest newspaper ABC figures certainly go some way in supporting this (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,1782,00.html) and it will be worth keeping an eye on the Technorati figures to see how this trend progresses.
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