Alex Barnett notes that, contrary to what Slashdot says, RSS is used by approximately 31% of web users -- not just 4%. He writes:

The study actually showed that 4% knew they were using RSS, while 27% were using it without realizing it.

It seems as though RSS has some similiarities to the Wachowski brothers' (er, on second thought, siblings) legendary film, The Matrix. The character Morpheus explains:

The Matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work... when you go to church... when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth.

Perhaps most importantly, this suggests that marketing strategies based on pitching RSS directly to end users via RSS aggregators is a questionable strategy, and that larger opportunities exist in focusing on spreading your RSS feed to web sites that accept them.

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