I've cut down on my RSS reading over the past 12-18 months. A lot of feeds that I might have read periodically, I have now dropped, replaced in part by what I see on Twitter.
But there are still around 15-20 RSS feeds that I like to read on a daily basis. I no longer read them on my desktop, however. I just don't have time. Instead, I like to read RSS feeds on my iPhone (using NetNewsWire, a great reader from Newsgator).
I read the feeds when I have dead time - on the subway, standing on line at the Indian takeout joint, etc. It lets me keep up with the info I need without being yet another distraction from getting work done. And, when I find something compelling, I can email it to myself with a couple of clicks.
That's why getting the full text of an RSS feed is so important to me. As a mobile user, I want to consume content on the mobile device and don't want to have to click through to a browser. That's why I was disappointed this morning to see that one of my favorite blogs, 24/7 Wall Street, has switched their feed to show just a snippet with a message telling me the full text is available on the website.
The snippet-based feeds have long been used by newspapers and that might make sense, particularly for those with content behind the pay wall. But blogs typically have full text in their feeds.
I understand the desire to monetize all your readers through your website, but for me, if it doesn't fit my workflow, I just won't read it anymore. That means that I'll miss content that I find valuable and stuff I might otherwise link to on this blog or share via Twitter or Delicious. In the long run, blogs that only provide snippets in their RSS will hurt themselves as they will lose readers and, more importantly, the buzz that comes from their content being shared to new users.
As content consumption moves to the smaller screen, more and more users will be using their smartphones as their primary means of reading information. Content providers should optimize the user experience for smartphones and other mobile devices if they want to maximize their readership.
