Compare Yale’s explanation of RSS and how to use it (for alumni, parents and students) here with Commission Junction’s hard to find and rather unhelpful description and tutorial on RSS here (I had to link to a post I’ve done because I can’t find their RSS how-to).

You might say “Well, it’s Yale, of course they are good at explaining things.” But Yale has little to no economic incentive to provide this type of quality info and instruction on how to use such a user friendly resource as RSS.

CJ (and all the affiliate and CPA networks, but I’m using CJ as an example because of it’s status in the affiliate industry) have a great economic incentive to get its users on RSS.  Communication brokering is the new currency.

It’s downright shocking to me how little the networks are pushing ahead on RSS, widgets (thanks for blazing that trail, ShareASale) and video.  Things are changing, but we need to be on the front lines of online marketing to keep affiliate marketing relevant.

Here’s the email I received from my alma mater this morning about RSS…

Dear Alumni, Parents, and Friends,

Supporting the boundless creativity of students and faculty is one of the most satisfying aspects of the Yale Tomorrow campaign. Those of us who live in New Haven see the impact of gifts every day, whether it is another fresh face on campus, a new play, a sports event, a symposium, or a laboratory breakthrough that changes how we look at the world.

Now, you can open your own window to Yale’s campus via the World Wide Web. We have equipped the Yale Tomorrow Web site with a news feed, which automatically alerts you to campaign news and events.

If you already have a news reader, you can go directly to www.yale.edu/yaletomorrow and subscribe.

If you don’t yet have a news reader, please visit www.yale.edu/yaletomorrow/newsfeed to learn about this useful and time-saving technology.

A free subscription to our Web site is a great way to find out what’s happening at Yale and how the campaign helps make it possible.

Warm regards,

Inge Reichenbach
Yale University
Office of Development

Way to go, Yale. I hate to say it, but online marketers and networks could learn a lot from you (still)…