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Morgan Stanley in its October Update from the Digital World has a lot of nice and interesting things to say about blogs and as they call it - user generated content and its distribution via RSS feed.

This is good since in the UK most people do not really understand that blogs have ‘serious’ biz applications. If they know about blogging, it is ‘kitty blogs’ or publishing fest for geeks. Sure, there are many of those, but so what? It is how you make blogs and the network work for you…

Either way, the report is unusually (for a serious business run by men in suits, that is) enthusiastic and positive about blogs:

And if there are hundreds or thousands of thought leaders and motivated, interested parties on the Internet with the ability to publish news or insights into any number of local or global issues, then it is safe to say that these blogs often become both the first source of news, a vital proving ground for authors and a source of potential community for other interested parties. For example, you’re probably going to get far more Boston Red Sox specific-content from a blog about the Red Sox made by a die-hard fan than you will from a random sports page, especially if you’re after opinions and community.

The author also gets excited about RSS syndication and Yahoo is mentioned heavily as a result of introducing RSS feeds into the My Yahoo page. (I had a look at it and it looks good - simple and functional, any problems can be put down to beta but it does have the simplicity that is needed for wider take up). I do not think I agree with the business/pricing model based on micropayments or sharing of revenue with Yahoo as the platform publisher. But there are a couple of groovy diagrams that I totally approve of, the business geek I am… Certainly worth a glance.