Interesting Blogger / Reader stats... lead to Kevin's RSS Rant!

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You WILL be blogged!

Interesting survey results on blogging, readers, and RSS.  Found on BloggersBlog.com…

Blogging and readership are growing.  MSN Spaces is growing in a BIG way.  (Hooray for our team. )  

“What’s the bad news?”

50% of regular blog readers don’t know what RSS stands for (no, it’s not “Rocket Science Surgery”) let alone how to use it to pull posts they’re interested in.

“So?”

So?! 

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The beauty of RSS is that you control the channel.  That means that instead of going back to a web site over and over again to find something new, you can (or should be able to) capture a link and set up something that will automatically TELL YOU when something is new or interesting to YOU. 

And here’s the kicker… I am really passionate about building and supporting the IT Pro community.  (Been there, done that, and now I want to give IT Pros all the help and resources I can.)  And part of my focus in doing that is in letting people know about our events (live, webcasts, whatever).  Microsoft and I can’t email all of you without seriously invading your privacy.  And perhaps you have unknowingly opted-out of receiving any emails from Microsoft letting you know when we’ll be coming to your area. 

So what if I were to give you a way to control the channel in terms of getting notified about certain events?  You could set up a news aggregator (I happen to love SharpReader.. and it’s free) and insert the feed link there… a feed that will only notify you when an event near you or that you find interesting has been scheduled. 

“Sounds cool… but really, what benefits will I see from this?”

How about this:

  • You save lot’s of time.  No longer do you have to keep going back to the TechNet Events or Webcasts site just to click around and find content you’re interested in.  Those items will come to YOU when they’re available.
  • You avoid un-wanted emails.  If you would prefer not getting emails from Microsoft, that’s your choice.  You can do that and still stay connected and informed!
  • You are among the first to hear about it.  So.. if an event that has limited capacity is announced, you will hear about it right after it’s scheduled so you can be among the first to sign up and not miss out.

“Sweet! Sign me up!”

No no no.. Weren’t you paying attention?    You’re empowered to do that yourself!  We’re still improving the ways you can do this, but right now you can actually go to www.technetevents.com, www.techneteventsbloggers.net, or www.microsoft.com/webcasts and find lots of RSS feeds – some you can even customize for events coming your area!  

So.. get a reader, go to our sites, get some links, and be connected!

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