7 Steps To Teach Anyone RSS

While the benefits of RSS become immediately obvious to some of us, the general internet population, don’t use it. In many cases, it’s not so much that they haven’t heard about it, it’s that they just don’t really see the point of it all.

The Moleskin has a good set of tips aimed at teaching anyone how to use RSS.

1. Formulate a 30 second elevator description. An example would be just describing it as a notification system that allows you to put the end user in control of when and how they receive information.
2. Support your elevator pitch with analogies. Everyone has some situation or that they can relate to.
3. Ask Questions. Figure out where their pain points might be with what they are currently doing. Then you can explain how RSS can fill voids and solve problems for them.
4. Teach by showing. Most people learn better by doing.
5. Use examples other than blogs and podcasts.
6. Some common answers include help desk tickets, auctions, sales, law enforcement alerts (e.g. Amber alerts), and weather reports…the list goes on.
7. Avoid technical jargon. It just doesn’t matter to the average person.

Interestingly enough, almost all these tips can be used to explain anything technical as well - Something to bear in mind the next time you have to present on a similar subject.

Many people, who use simple start pages like Google IG, don’t even realize they’re using RSS. These are incredibly friendly online readers, and instead of trying to get a new user to understand RSS, you may want to let them try these readers, and let them ‘get it’ at their own pace.