Yahoo has issued a new White paper on RSS. You can download the PDF but here are some key findings:

• 12% of users are aware of RSS, and 4% have knowingly used RSS.
  
• 27% of Internet users consume RSS syndicated content on personalized start pages without knowing it's RSS
  
• 28% of Internet users are aware of podcasting, but only 2% currently subscribe to podcasts.
• Even tech-savvy “Aware RSS Users” prefer to access RSS feeds via user-friendly, browser-based experiences (e.g., My Yahoo!, Firefox, My MSN).
  

World news and national news are currently the RSS content of choice, at 52%. More specialized content such as blogs (23%) and podcasting (11%) are gaining quickly, but are still less prevalent. Mainstream media rather than niche content accounts for the majority of RSS use.

The primary benefit reported for use of RSS is efficient access to media sources.

Publishers striving to syndicate their content via RSS should pay attention to how their feeds are listed within popular RSS readers. They should also provide easy and prominent means for users to add RSS feeds on every article page.

Over one quarter of Internet users (27%) enjoy the benefits of RSS without knowing it. These "Unaware RSS Users" are similar demographically to the average Internet user, suggesting that RSS is not just for the tech-savvy few.

Hat tip to: beSpacific

Tags: RSS, Yahoo, white paper, blog marketing