Good news for e-commerce and marketing types who have yet to find a clear, practical use for RSS (a.k.a. Real Simple Syndication). 

“RSS is here to stay, but it’s already started to disappear,” says Charlie Wood and Steve Rubel agrees stating emphatically “RSS is plumbing.”

But what about my former co-conspirator, Stuart Watson (now founder of RSS analytics pioneer SyndicateIQ)?  I know he has more to say about RSS’s application in the enterprise and specifically among marketers.  He’s wrapped up at the Syndicate Conference this week but perhaps I can convince him to report in on key happenings.

Settle Down Now: Pheedo’s RSS CTR Rates Explained
In related news out of the Conference, many are picking up on Pheedo’s reports that RSS ads that appear as actual items or “stories” inside feeds get an 8 percent click through rate (CTR).  Excited?  I’m not and here’s why.  Ever use RSS feeds?  I do and guess how many ads I’ve clicked on (or nearly clicked) that I mistook for actual content / news stories?  This sky high RSS CTR that Pheedo reports is artificial... so, settle down now.