That Way; No Not THAT Way

Earlier, I read Bruce Warila’s blog because he has the same interest that I have - getting content creators to come out of their shell. Their shell is actually there body of work. So often, it’s who they want to be to their audience - the same well rehearsed, articulate show every night. Musicians and authors, both.

Bruce is Rocky Road. I am on a diet. We have so many, many stylistic differences. I need a sedative or something before I venture to his blog. Even so, what he said:

50% of the online population is using RSS.
RSS is the best way to slowly introduce yourself to new fans that don’t have time to read your emails or continually visit your website.
For fans, RSS is so much less intrusive than email, and so much easier than visiting your website.
For everyone, RSS is the most efficient method to subscribe to updates from hundreds or thousands of information sources.
Having thousands of RSS subscribers is another reason why a label or an investor may invest in you.

Then comes the sex. Or something like that according to the story he puts through his RSS feed. Other than being about 3 feet and 2,000 words too long, and largely irrelevant, it was bad. There is nothing about bad or long that agrees with ‘episodic.’ I hope he hears my joking tone.

But otherwise, what he said. Consistently show something easy. The RSS feed is a medium that encourages passivity. In fact, RSS is the channel that readers hardly ever change.

I do have one significant point. If your blog posts are longer than 600 words and two pictures, you don’t understand this medium yet. That is not the way to tweak a passive audience. When someone subscribes to an RSS feed, they are giving you their permission to make light use of their attention. Three minutes max.

I start deleting RSS feeds that fail the 3 minute test. I believe most casual readers would especially after they are on RSS feed overload. An RSS feed is something you scan during a commercial break.

Also, you need to be really, really good with your title, your first paragraph and your picture. In that sense, it’s simple front-page journalism.