July 23, 2004
RSS Gains Traction as More Publishers Offer Feeds
by Ross Fadner
Content providers are deploying RSS feeds at a rapid pace these days. Industry insiders maintain that the adoption of the technology by major online publishers like The New York Times Digital, The Wall Street Journal Online, and CNET Networks indicates that RSS could have a major impact on media distribution. In fact, just this week, The Online Journal began offering RSS feeds for the first time, while NYTimes.com brought its RSS operations in-house and expanded the number of feeds to 27.
And yet, most Internet users still have no idea what RSS is. Those that do, claim it will transform the way people consume media.
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is an electronic feed that sends content to recipients who proactively choose to receive it. Users choose the feed they want from content providers, and then receive the information through RSS readers, or aggregators. RSS readers regularly scan sites to receive feeds in real-time, thereby providing continuously updated content from each site.
RSS is separate from the e-mail pipeline, and since it is 100 percent opt-in, there is no way for a user to receive an RSS feed he or she did not request.
"From a business perspective it's a way of enhancing and expanding communication with your customers," said Michael Gartenberg, VP-Research Director, Jupiter Research. He added that it's a great way to monitor a company, by essentially "subscribing" to its Web site.
