Product registration… what a joke. Do you EVER register any of the products you buy these days? Hell no (unless you have to, to take advantage of a product rebate or something)!

The reason why nobody registers, is that it’s a one-way street. You send the manufacturer a bunch of personal information, and what do you get? In the case of a car purchase, it’s a notification in the mail about a recall (or more likely, just some junk mail trying to get you back in the dealership). And if you are like me, you’ve moved eight jillion times since you bought your car, so you’re never going to get a recall notice anyway. Well, that’s all going to change. And soon.

In the future, “product registration” will primarily consist of subscribing to an RSS feed. In this paradigm, the consumer wins because you don’t need to give the manufacturer a bunch of personal information, and it will be trivial to stay up-to-date on your purchase even if you move.

Can you imaging buying something like a computer, reading the manual (ok, you never do that either) and discovering that there are a series of RSS feeds specific to the model you just purchased? For example, there would be a firmware feed, a driver feed, a “tips” feed, etc. So when your computer eventually melts down and you are forced to reload the OS, you can find all the current drivers with a couple of clicks. No more painful searching through lame-ass UIs just to find some drivers.

All companies should make this mandatory STAT. As the Harvard Business Review says,

What sort of information should companies syndicate? The better question is perhaps, What sort shouldn’t they syndicate? (link to full article, subscription required).

O’Reilly is coming out with a couple of new books on Firefox, an “advanced” one called Firefox Hacks and an “introductory” book (calling it like it is) entitled Don’t Click on the Blue E!. I checked Amazon, and they have a release date of March 2005, however, you can pre-order now. Let’s hope they come out sooner.

Here’s O’Reilly’s summary of Firefox Hacks:

Firefox Hacks is ideal for power users who want to maximize the effectiveness of Firefox, the next-generation web browser that is quickly gaining in popularity. This highly-focused book offers all the valuable tips and tools you need to enjoy a superior and safer browsing experience. Learn how to customize its deployment, appearance, features, and functionality.(Full Description)

Here’s O’Reilly’s summary of Don’t Click on the Blue E!:

For anyone who has grown disenchanted with Microsoft’s Internet Explorer web browser, Don’t Click on the Blue E! offers help. It gives non-technical users a convenient roadmap for switching to a better web browser—Firefox. As the only book that covers the switch to Firefox, this how-to guide is a must for all those who want to browse faster, more securely, and more efficiently. (Full Description)