When Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds first came, everyone pushed for subscribers like how the Internet providers and mobile providers here push during PC Fair.
Everyone did their best to draw attention to the RSS subscription. Many did (and still do) promote it via:
- Large RSS icons or buttons.
- Post headers or footers.
During this time, bloggers who gained subscribers of more than 1000 RSS subscribers were proud to publicized the figures on their blog. However, I’ve a strong feeling this movement is changing. Thanks to social media.
When I recently read TechCrunch, I noticed they’ve now humbly placed their badge of subscribers in the footer.
As I said, thanks to social media the focus now isn’t how many subscribers do you have. But how interesting and how active is content. I’m slowly seeing more Malaysian bloggers create their own Facebook fan pages now.
Is it a good thing? Maybe. Is it a bad thing? Possibly.
At the end of the day, numbers schnumbers. It’s how effectively are you using the tools.