In 1985, we all had a great excuse for not using RSS for our subscription-based content:  We didn't have a computer and RSS had not yet been invented.  In 2004, we have a great excuse for not using RSS: We didn't have an RSS-reader.  Today, in 2005, we are fresh out of excuses.  Almost everybody has the ability and the time to set up their subscriptions via RSS.  Allow me to show you how.

First of all, consider all of the content that you are currently obtaining via subscriptions.  These can include periodical newsletters, promotional emails, news alerts, sports scores, listservs, renewal emails about ongoing transactions, statements from various vendors, etc.  Now, let's take an inventory of all of the RSS readers in your life.  Raise your hand if you use one of the following services:  My AOL, MyYahoo, Google Gmail, MSN, shall I go on?  If you use one of those services, then you have a personalized start page...and if you have a personalized start page, then you have an RSS reader.

For example, Yahoo users can go to http://my.yahoo.com/s/about/rss/index.html to learn more about it.  In Google, you can just type in anything you want, and they will list available RSS feeds http://www.google.com/ig.  So, every consumer with a computer has the ability to set up a home page filled with real-time content subscriptions.  Now, we just have to wait for the corporate world to catch up!