...by the inmates...for the inmates...
Thursday, August 26, 2004Amy Gahran Kicks Ass and Takes Names of the RSS Clueless Feedless
Feedless Hall of Shame: Most of the Fortune 100. Here's an update for my Feedless Hall of Shame – this blog's personal pit of ignominy for those organizations or online venues which really, really should offer at least some kind of minimal webfeed-based information services. In fact, they have no good excuse not to be doing so already!
I figured that the best business rationale for offering webfeeds – at the very least for press releases and investor information – would be major companies. I mean, these organizations live and breathe in tune with the gyrations of the fast-moving stock market and media. What better way to reach out to investors and the press than to offer webfeeds for those online audiences? Serve them up-to-the-minute information in a highly organized format, friendly to updating and syndication. Bingo!
With that in mind, I used Feedster's Feedfinder tool to scan for webfeeds on the internet domains of the Fortune 100 (the 100 largest US companies, based on 2003 revenue, ranked by Fortune Magazine).
The results, in a word, were dismal. Currently only four Fortune 100 companies offer any sort of publicly-accessible webfeed under their primary domain – and only one (IBM) is making serious use of this valuable new communication channel.
As Homer Simpson would say: D'oh!
So which Fortune 100 companies are using webfeeds, which aren't, and how could they all leverage this medium?...
(Read the list...) [Contentious Weblog]
The (MyFreePress) Buck Stops Here
Email from Buck at MyFreePress confirms that I actually have two readers, not just one. Will wonders never cease? He didn't mention if he visits the site or monitors via RSS. Maybe just a lucky flip of the Jenett Radio Randomizer? Either way, if Buck visits the Asylum, he must have too much time on his hands. Too much sunlight in Canada this time of year? <grin> Thanks for stopping by.