Comments on: RSS: The Ultimate Opt-In Solution http://www.forevergeek.com/2004/09/rss_the_ultimate_opt_in_solution/ Nerds are for Dorks Fri, 10 Feb 2012 21:04:07 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: JC http://www.forevergeek.com/2004/09/rss_the_ultimate_opt_in_solution/#comment-2663 JC Thu, 30 Sep 2004 23:21:09 +0000 http://forevergeek.com/?p=808#comment-2663 I have to laugh a bit. Half our customers can't even comprehend "click here if you have never used this system before" and we had to remove the login box from the page and make them click the appropriate link before they can see the login box they need. Them... RSS? But for the 2-3% of clueful RSS lovin' people out there, maybe it'd work. You'd have to teach the RSS reader to do HTTP post, since I don't think SSL helps much if the username and password are in the URL (could be wrong about that, but it would definitely make people uneasy seeing their passwords there); and of course you'd have to deal with the fact that a goodly number of RSS readers are web-based and the websites they reside on are NOT SSL encrypted... I can see it being a useful opt-in venue for non-secure things, if by useful you mean "a way to keep them from sending me crap I don't want" ... after all, the reason marketers hate opt-in so much is that almost no one would ever opt in, given the choice. It's an idea though. What I think it'd be FAR more useful for than bank statements, though, is things like CD and other interest rates. I may even bring that one up with my boss, it'd be quite easy to implement. I have to laugh a bit. Half our customers can’t even comprehend “click here if you have never used this system before” and we had to remove the login box from the page and make them click the appropriate link before they can see the login box they need. Them… RSS?
But for the 2-3% of clueful RSS lovin’ people out there, maybe it’d work. You’d have to teach the RSS reader to do HTTP post, since I don’t think SSL helps much if the username and password are in the URL (could be wrong about that, but it would definitely make people uneasy seeing their passwords there); and of course you’d have to deal with the fact that a goodly number of RSS readers are web-based and the websites they reside on are NOT SSL encrypted…

I can see it being a useful opt-in venue for non-secure things, if by useful you mean “a way to keep them from sending me crap I don’t want” … after all, the reason marketers hate opt-in so much is that almost no one would ever opt in, given the choice.

It’s an idea though. What I think it’d be FAR more useful for than bank statements, though, is things like CD and other interest rates. I may even bring that one up with my boss, it’d be quite easy to implement.

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