Robert Scoble of Microsoft uses persona-driven design in illustrating the potential of RSS.

Has there been any serious user-research and investigation of RSS from a user-experience or information science point-of-view?

Not just the UX of the aggregators or readers, but how people might use RSS in their daily information foraging behaviour, and as part of a greater mix of media that we’re all swimming in these days.

Or has anyone looked further outside that to ‘pain-points’ in people’s everyday lives where an rss-type delivery of information or services might bring benefit?