RSS Pad - Really Simple Syndication ... Really!

RSS Roundtable

Last night I had the opportunity to enjoy a lot of lively discussion on the theme of RSS.  Bill Flitter of Pheedo organized a great dinner event along with RSS based topics regarding the industry as a whole.  In attendance were such RSS notables as Steve Gillmor of ZDNet, and Scott Rafer of Feedster fame, David McInnis of PRWeb, among others, approximately 40 attendees in all.

Subjects ranged from advertising in RSS, RSS spam filters being created, and of course the demise of emails.  While the participants expressed divided views on certain matters the general rule as it pertained to RSS is that it is here to stay and will continue to flourish as more cool technologies and applications are developed.

Steve Gillmor made the statement, "Most people don't realize it, but RSS is controlling everything."  While I don't know if it controlling everything just yet I am amazed at the many ways it affects the way information is shared.  In our Web 2.0 world RSS allows for us to track packages in UPS, get the latest NBA scores and stay up to the minute on stock prices.  I have to say Steve's comment may be a little early, but only a little.  Pretty soon it may be just so prevalent that even though the average information consumer has no idea what RSS is they will be gaining nearly all of there most relied upon information via this cool technology that we love to debate.

I have to give a big shout out to Technorati for while a representative from there was not available that evening they were frequently discussed as a top tool in the RSS industry.

My hat is off to all those that attended and especially Bill Flitter and the Pheedo gang for coordinating it.

Scoble, Zawodny and Cutts

Sitting at WebmasterWorld Boston, better known as PubCon  this morning I am being treated to a morning session with the "Super Bloggers of Search."  This is an all star lineup that includes Robert Scoble of Microsoft, Jeremy Zawodny of Yahoo! and Matt Cutts of Google.  PubCon's fearless leader Brett Tabke introduced the lineup and added a little humor when he realized that he scheduled three West Coast guys for a 9:00 AM East Coast meeting.

All three of them indicated in there respective forms that blogging is here to stay.  Interesting enough they also did not realize how quickley it would take off and in Scobles case he has some 40 thousand subscribers.  One of the important things that Zawodny noted was that it is important to not let it affect what you say and do simply because there are thousands of eyes on you.

Scoble also spoke to the power journalists that follow Technorati and how a blogger with five subscibers can affect a news story as much a major blogger.  So one person who says their X-Box is crashing in their blog can be picked up by the journalist via Technorati and result in a news story.

Scoble responded to corporate policy that governs blogging and he said the one rule is, "BE SMART!" or as the Public Relations team at Microsoft reitterated for him, "Don't be stupid!"  Scoble understands the importance of this as he provides insight to Microsoft from a video blog perspective via Channel9 MSDN.

Both Cutts and Zawodny indicated that they have policies that are about two pages long that indicated basically the same thing.  In essence don't reveal internal information that should remain confidential, i.e. finacials.  Zawodny said that Yahoo!'s policy is available online.

While I have met Cutts and Zawodny in the past I have not met Scoble before today.  I have to admit it was a treat to see these three together and observe their banter and humorous interactions.  I have to applaud Tabke for pulling all three of these "Super Bloggers" together.

I think it demonstrates how RSS is really changing the landscape on so many fronts.  RSS really allows for some fast paced distribution of information in real time or near real time.  This is what allows for Scoble to address 40 thousand subscribers in an instant.  Better still as Matt Cutts put it, it provides for an "authentic voice... there is room for groups, and room for press releases and there is room for blogs"

Of course being intimately involved with PRWeb, an early adopter of RSS I couldn't agree with Cutts more.  You have to love this Web 2.0 world that we are in.

At this point in the technology cycle you have to look at RSS as a gift.

The Tipping Point

I always love going to WebmasterWorld PubCon and all that it entails.  This morning I am at the WebmasterWorld Boston listening to Malcolm Gladwell, author of "The Tipping Point", a book that highlights great moments in history when great things begin to happen.

Malcolm spoke briefly on the first sporting event that was ever broadcast which was a championship boxing match involving Jack Dempsey in the early 1920s.  As the story goes there was a single RCA employee, David Burn, who could envision such an event, but ran into obstacles in his path at every turn.  He he was an early twenties employee with no resources or pull.  However, he on his own time persuaded somebody to basically steal a military radio transmitter.  He called up RCA sales reps and convinced them to place radios in public places like bars and restaurants.  He found someone who understood boxing enough to do radio commentary.  Again there had never been a live sports broadcasters before.

He finally pulled it all together.  The fight was broadcast live and Dempsey knocked his opponent out in the  4Th round, which was good because the transmitter blew in what would have been the 5Th round.  People from all over heard this historic event which was much greater than the single boxing match.

The great historic event was the launching of radio as a means to give live coverage of sports and other world events.  This was the "Tipping Point" in the radio industry.  The year that followed 1200 companies entered the radio industry and the demand for a radio in the home exploded.

So here we are in the modern world of RSS and lessons can be learned.  RSS has been around for a while yet it has only recently started to grab some lime light.  I would assess that we have seen some minor tipping points.  PRWeb and other early adopters have used RSS Since around 2001; Yahoo! in May of 2005 launched it's media RSS (mRSS) initiative; Blogging with RSS is the standard; A large number RSS aggregation tools have been developed in the last couple of years and the list could go on.

So what will be the next big thing that we could describe as a tipping point?  Will it be when every web-browser comes standard with an RSS newsreader not just as a plug-in?  Will it be when we no longer use email as we currently know it?  I don't know for sure, but one thing I do know is that by staying in tune with this industry we can be prepared to ride the next wave.

By the way, if you have not read "The Tipping Point" be sure to go out and get a copy for yourself.  The authors words are outstanding and the book will be a nice reminder of where we have come from and open your eyes to where we can go!

Bloglines

There are many RSS News Readers out there.  Each telling it's own story as to why it should be selected.  One that I have used recently is Blonglines.  Bloglines is an Ask.com property that will allow you to track blogs and RSS feeds and even publish.

The really cool thing is that there is not any software to download as it is an online platform.  One of the great benefits of that is that you can check your newsreader from any computer anywhere provided you can access the web.

While this is not the only solution of it's kind it is definitely one worth mentioning.  Best of all it is easy to use.

Have fun!!