RSS to IM for ads?
MessageCast has developed a way to RSS feeds into customers MSN IM boxes. Interesting idea. It does get around spam, it can sense if you're offline and send to through an alternate channel. Certainly a company to watch as they roll out this service to bloggers (see website).
MessageCast Tests RSS for Delivery
As the RSS space continues to heat up, California firm MessageCast is beta testing a version of its multi-channel message delivery service that uses RSS technology, but lets consumers continue to receive messages through familiar channels.RSS (define) has long appealed to marketers for many reasons, including its ability to deliver messages to users while bypassing the problem of spam. However, its adoption has been hampered by many technical challenges, including the need for users to install software to read RSS feeds. This is a challenge for users who are not technically inclined.
“We're the first mechanism that lets consumers get RSS information without having an aggregator,” said Royal Farros, Chairman and CEO of MessageCast, the Redwood City, Calif. firm that makes message delivery software LiveMessage. “Consumers can get information that is dispensed via RSS on their desktops, or on their cell phones, or via e-mail.”
The company's core product, LiveMessage, uses public instant messaging systems such as MSN Messenger to conduct messages. The instant messaging systems act as a conduit for messages that are delivered to users' desktops via the IM window, cell phones via short message service (SMS) and e-mail inboxes via e-mail. The user dictates which of these the message is delivered to.