We Need RSS

I could not survive a day in the enterprise without access to my RSS feeds, yet why do so many organizations still not know what it is, or restrict access to it? The latest post in Adventures in Knowledge discusses how companies still do not see the business value in RSS.

Truth of the matter is that RSS feeds simplify our means of communication and learning. Not only can I subscribe to my boss’s feed to know exactly what’s on his mind on a project, but I can subscribe to thousands of blogs that will keep me in the know and further enrich my understanding on the subject matter. Web 2.0 tools like RSS can help make the enterprise a smaller place, helping to connect people all over the world. Let us take a step towards that path and start reaping the benefits today…

We’re getting ready to launch a new blog that looks at the broader issues of Enterprise 2.0, add it to your RSS feed now as we get it ready for our official launch:

http://enterprise-3.blogspot.com/

Let’s Get Corporate Blogging Up and Running!

Enterprise blogging is an effective way to collaborate between teams and share vital information. There are though, some pre-requisites organizations must take before firing up a blogging platform. I came across an interesting post on The Content Economy which highlights essential aspects that a blogging platform must adhere to. Here are a few:

1. The blogs and blog tools like RSS feeds must be easy to access from any computer as well as any mobile device.
2. The blogging platform should be easy to use; there should be huge buttons for editing, creating, and publishing posts. Employees should have no trouble on the blog site.
3. Employees should be able to administer all of their blogs from one single point.
4. There must be freedom of choice when it comes to selecting a RSS reader. If an internal RSS reader is used, it must allow subscription to an external RSS reader.
5. Since most employees are always on the go, they must be able to publish and create posts via e-mail and text messaging from their mobile devices.
6. Lastly, tagging is essential for employees to manage their blog posts and allow users to search by interest areas.

IT Dept, Please Remove That Barrier!

The primary concern of the IT dept should be to aid employees in being more productive and also to help them do their jobs more efficiently, it shouldn’t be to create obstacles for them. IT managers are so concerned with safety that they restrict essential Web 2.0 tools in the enterprise such as RSS feeds and social networking, just to name a few. Oscar Berg shares his annoyance with the IT dept in his latest post. Oscar mentions a few things that provoke his “allergic reactions” to barriers in the enterprise. Here are some of the things:

• Not allowing employees to buy or download and install software on their computers
• Not allowing employees to set their own browser home page or not allowing multiple home pages in pages that support multiple tabs
• Not allowing browser plug-ins such as Flash
• Restricting access to information resources by default instead of only restricting access when it is really needed and having as default to let employees access information resources
• Not allowing instant messaging
• Not allowing external RSS feeds (simply because they are seen as something alien that the IT department cannot control)

These obstacles put on by the IT dept are crippling business strategy. After a long time of frustration, employees will start to seek ways to go around these restrictions, thus breaking some company rules. If IT pros want to avoid this conflict, then they must start to realize the value that Web 2.0 tools can bring to the enterprise.

Sharing is Caring

As we transition ourselves to new ways of acquiring information on the web through Enterprise 2.0 applications, we realize that the trend of finding information on the net has shifted from browsing to searching and then to sharing within a network of relationships. David Sacks’s blog explains how portal giants like MSN and AOL are experiencing declining pageviews because of their ancient browsing philosophies.

Web users are no longer interested in browsing the web; they want to be able to search what they are looking for and be able to subscribe to the ever-changing content via RSS feeds and news alerts. We are living in a user-generated era where web-savvy users want easy and fast access to information. Unlike Yahoo and AOL, Google’s platform makes it possible for this type of aggregation. Even though the iGoogle platform is fast-growing, it does have a potential flaw. David Sacks mentions:

“But iGoogle has a serious limitation: it doesn’t involve sharing; each user has to make an individual investment in set-up and can’t benefit from the work of others. It’s not really a Web 2.0 product.”



Lying on the other side of the spectrum is Facebook with its information sharing platform. Facebook’s developer platform makes it relatively effortless to access information on their network of friends and business contacts. While browsing and searching requires work, a web user can do nothing and receive a constantly streaming array of information tuned to their exact specifications. Where will this sharing application take Enterprise in the future when users want to learn about news instead of updates on their friends and contacts? Facebook and other portals clearly have their work cut out for them as the trend is constantly evolving.

Yahoo seems to be making the right move with its sight on Facebook, but will it take advantage of its sharing capabilities? Will Google finally launch its long awaited networking platform to keep up with Facebook? Even though its popularity has declined, browsing and searching will never go away. The portal that can utilize all three methods will most definitely remain on top…

RSS and Your Enterprise

Today, we live in a market where knowledge, content, and information are key driving factors in a cut-throat business world. When RSS was first introduced by Netscape in 1999, we all doubted whether it had any real business value. Now RSS has clearly become an enterprise necessity enabling people to easily share ideas, improve different work processes, and solve problems that were previously unattainable without this form of collaboration. Even with all these benefits, can someone please explain to me why organizations are still doubtful in creating a managed RSS ecosystem?

Scott Niesen from Attensa attempts to project the real “business value” of RSS in his latest blog. It’s an easy to understand explanation of the benefits RSS systems can bring to your enterprise; sometimes you just have to put it in layman’s terms in order for colleagues to accept these changes.