 RSS
Won the Syndication Standards Battle
RSS Won the Syndication Standards Battle
RSS Won the Battle
RSS appears to have conquered the last hurtle in becoming the industry
syndication standard.
Microsoft's inclusion of RSS into the newest version of Internet Explorer
and reports that RSS will be in Longhorn's coming release appears
to be the final nail in the coffin of the Atom specification. Even
Atom's steadfast supporter Google, appears to have seen the light.
Google had previously acquired Blogger, a popular blogging tool that
uses the Atom specification to syndicate the contents of blogs created
on the Blogger platform. In the past Google had strategically steered
clear of endorsing the RSS specification hoping that Atom, would take
hold.
Google's recent new service that allows web surfers to monitor Google
News using either RSS or Atom feeds, appears to be an acknowledgment
that perhaps in purchasing Blogger, they chose the wrong specification.
The adoption of a syndication standard was slowed by the struggle
between Atom and RSS. Two defined syndication standards vying for
the number one position. In an IT industry that clearly favors single
standard solutions, Atom supporters claimed added flexibility, but
RSS' wide sweeping support from heavy hitters like Microsoft, Apple
and Yahoo. Along with the popularity surge of podcasting, which is
based on the RSS 2.0 specification appears to have sealed the fate
of the future syndication standard.
The history and relationship between RSS and Atom is a sordid tale
that has hindered the progress of an online syndication standard.
Now that the leader has been defined their is little in the way of
RSS' growth. Businesses leery of becoming entwined in a standards
struggle are now embracing RSS as a communication channel.
It is clear that those who have lined up behind RSS as the leading
specification are the winners.
Oddly enough, while those entrenched in the industry acknowledge the
difficulties with a dual standard, users rarely see a difference in
feeds created using the Atom and RSS standards. Most popular RSS readers
support reading feeds in both formats. Though the purpose of RSS and
Atom is the same, the specification itself is very different, making
it difficult and time consuming for tool developers to move between
the dual standard.
Now that Atom's attempt at replacing RSS has fallen flat, the syndication
arena will likely see significant innovation and progress.
Large companies are taking advantage of RSS' extendibility using namespaces
adding needed tags. Apple has done this with iTunes, Microsoft for
ordered lists, and Yahoo with MediaRSS. All use the same basic RSS
2.0 format but supports defined RSS' future is bright with many companies
working proactively to unite a once divided standard.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com
software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts.
In addition Sharon manages marketing for FeedForDev http://www.feedfordev.com
an RSS component for developers. In addition Sharon manages marketing
for NotePage http://www.notepage.net
a wireless text messaging software company.
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