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. 

Tivo… the supposed ad-killer… now aims to become the advertisement helper.  Let’s face it, ads can be helpful to consumers when they’re actually interested in being influenced, pitched to, etc.  This is a large appeal of search marketing - consumers can find what products they want.  So… Tivo doesn’t want to stop at helping consumers tune out commercials; now they want to help TV watchers tune into relevant ads when they want them. 

Sounds like a Google-killer to me.  Hu?  Think about it: Does the Almighty Google.com (in its current state) help you or hinder you in your search for relevant ads or commercial information?  I tend to find its user interface cumbersome and riddled with garbage (i.e. type in just about any irrelevant word and receive “Looking for ______?  Find exactly what you want today.  eBay.com").  I’ll skip the “thanks to affiliate marketing programs” rant on this one.

Could Tivo beat Google to the punch by offering a better way for consumers to tune INTO advertisements?  Could Tivo give consumers complete control over advertisements and, thereby, become a more useful and popular utility?

*** THIS JUST IN *** December 2, 2005
MarketingVOX reports Tivo is stepping up the pace and getting into e-commerce.  Subscribers can now search local movie listings, purchase tickets, download music and exchange photos via Yahoo.

I’ve been a long-time proponent of web analytics, requiring all of my clients to implement analytics, writing articles in trade magazines, and staying abreast of changes in the industry.  But yesterday’s announcement by Google of providing the Urchin services for FREE really blew me away. 

I’ve looked over their offering, and it seems quite robust.  It appears to offer about 95% of the features offered by competitors costing $1,000 per month or more. 

On the down side, I’m reading in several places (DM News, Web Analytics Forum, etc.) that there should be some concern about privacy issues, and Google using the data collected “against you.” From what I’ve seen of Google, these concerns may not be entirely off-base.  You can be sure that Google will use the collective and individual intelligence they glean from the web data gathered from this “free” program.  Yes, they will probably use it to set and negotiate pricing for current and future advertising mechanisms.  That may be bad.  However, they may also use it to find new ways to maximize the collective advertising dollars of everyone that plays.  Let’s face it, Google is a significant source of revenue for many companies.  If Google uses the collected data to continue to improve their offerings, and thus improve the revenues and profits of thousands of businesses, is that really a bad exchange for letting them peek at your data?

Sound off with your views…

When first announced, I recall a lot of head scratching inside the performance marketing community and online advertising in general. 

Tom Taulli of Forbes.com has done a fantastic job of presenting some interesting perspectives on what he calls the New Skype-eBay Ecosystem.  Says Taulli,

“Simply put, Skype-eBay wants to break the mold of the traditional telecom industry. Revenue won’t be generated from per-minute charges; rather, it will come from providing premium services. And, no doubt, Skype-eBay wants to be the de facto platform for this new communication system.”

In his interview with Saul Klein, the VP of Marketing for Skype, we learn that “New types of services are possible,” according to Klein.  He uses this example:

Suppose a San Francisco businessman needs to conduct a call with a potential client in Rio. He can search for Portuguese translators on eBay and get a list of them, their location, their rates and their ratings by other users. He selects one and can then instantly conduct a three-way conference call via Skype and pay for the translation service via PayPal.

Further, Klein outlined four areas where other companies will benefit from the Skype-eBay combination: hardware, software applications, voice services and personalized Skype content.

NBC and CBS are no longer thinking about crossing the road, they’re dodging traffic by embracing core concepts of the Cluetrain Manifesto.  To what degree?  For a buck or two fans of “Lost” and “Desperate Housewives” will be able to download commercial-free episodes for playback on their PC or other digital video device. 

As broadband continues to penetrate widely this is bound to lead to some kind of set-top integration I’m betting.  Even though, PCs are not only strategically located they’re simultaneously used (with other media) and with increasing regularity.  Thus, I suggest that downloading direct to a set-top device for easy playback makes sense.  Consider users like myself who use cable TV for entertainment and broadband Web access.  Then again, don’t expect the broadcast networks to get too cozy with cable companies… but what about other ISPs?  Whoops… many of them are, also, getting into the “content” game too. 

It would seem that ISPs are positioned fairly well in this regard but NBC and CBS are finally dipping toes in the pool.  Has the Tivoization of a nation forced their hand?  I’ve got to think so.

Should we be surprised that those comfortable (myself included) with Web-based shopping are more likely to serve themselves at a grocery or retail store?  Probably not but I have to admit that the words “Unexpected item in bagging area… remove unexpected item...” have left me, more than once, abandoning the “convenience” this seemingly retarded technology offers (so far).

Reports Internet Retailer Magazine...

“Forrester found that a web buyer is 28% more likely than a non-web buyer to use a self-checkout system. This year, 61% of all North American consumers have used self-checkout, compared with 71% of online consumers and 80% of web buyers.”