Study Shows 11% of Blog Readers Use RSS to Manage Feeds

Nielsen//NetRatings has posted the results of an interesting study showing that 11% of blog readers use RSS technology to manage feeds. Some of the stats from the survey (PDF):

• I use a feed aggregating Web site to monitor RSS feeds for blogs – 6.4%
• I’ve heard of RSS and know what it does but don¿t use RSS feeds – 23.0%
• I’ve heard of RSS but don¿t know what it does – 15.7%
• I’ve never heard of RSS before today – 50.0%

From the press release:

Nielsen//NetRatings announced today that 11 percent of Weblog readers, blog site visitors who claim to read blogs regularly or occasionally, use RSS (Really Simple Syndication) to sort through the increasing number of blogs available. According to Nielsen//NetRatingsâ?? â??Understanding the Blogosphereâ? survey, nearly five percent of blog readers use feed aggregation software and more than six percent use a feed aggregating Web site to monitor RSS feeds from blogs.

â??While RSS is an established technology, the growing popularity of blogs has catapulted RSS into the spotlight as a content personalization tool,â? said Jon Gibs, senior research manager, Nielsen//NetRatings.