RSS Technology Attracts Online Publishers, Marketers.

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Author: Angel, Jonathan

STRATEGY

There's a new Internet technology that is changing online publishing and marketing. Capturing the attention of readers, tech journalists and marketers alike, it promises a major shift in how information is consumed on the Internet.

Strong words, especially when you learn that the technology is based on simple text and was invented--then forgotten--by Netscape more than three years ago. It's called RSS, which usually stands for Rich Site Summary, though the programmers evolving the language don't always agree on everything, including what the initials stand for.

The earliest version of RSS was engineered by Netscape as a way to help users obtain news channels and add them to the My Netscape portal. But as the importance of that portal faded, so did RSS-until last year.

To learn what's driving it, you need to know what RSS can do. A "feed" in RSS parlance is an XML-formatted description of a Web page, stored separately on a Web server. It provides information about what stories or links are on the Web site, optionally providing a textual summary.

These XML tags can provide a way for one Web site to communicate with an other. More often, however, they're being read directly by users with software awkwardly named "RSS aggregators."

With names such as Awasu, Amphetadesk, NewzCrawler and NetNewsWire, RSS aggregators resemble e-mail software. However, they receive only the RSS feeds to which a user has subscribed. (Unsubscribing is as easy as hitting the delete key, so spam just isn't possible.) For many, it's becoming a happy medium between an e-mail program and a Web browser.

Why did RSS suddenly take off last year? Because of a related phenomenon: blogs. These reguarly updated personal Web pages, sometimes done for vanity--surely we'll all be posting RSS feeds to our Christmas letters this winter--thrive on attracting traffic.

But while RSS feeds often have a blog at the other end, that doesn't have to be the case. In recent months many tech publishers have begun posting RSS feeds that point users to their sites. A list of just a few includes: CMP's CRN and Network Computing; CNet's News.com; IDG's InfoWorld and Computerworld; the San Jose Mercury News; and Ziff Davis Media's eWeek, PC Magazine and Extreme Tech.

Technology marketers, though not so quick off the mark, are making plans to put RSS feeds on their sites too, both for attracting customers and--with different feeds--journalists.

For example, Microsoft and IBM could craft RSS feeds pointing to all their press releases and supporting materials. (Microsoft may include RSS aggregator technology in an Internet Explorer upgrade this fall.)

"From an economic perspective, publishers haven't really incorporated the RSS reader into their model, says veteran tech journalist Steve Gillmor, who contributes a blog and companion RSS feed to CRN. "It's a little bit of a mixed blessing right now."

"We look at the feeds in terms of traffic and in terms of getting the InfoWorld brand out there inexpensively," says Matt McAlister, director of online product development for InfoWorld. Especially bullish on RSS, InfoWorld links to feeds prominently from its homepage.

But, explaining Gillmor's point, he says, "There's a danger these feeds mean people will go to Web sites less often. It will depend, all the more, on the quality of the content."

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By Jonathan Angel