RSS or Really Simple Syndication is a standard for publishing regular updates to web based content. Some are saying it is The Next Big Thing on the web. It is used by many large sites (e.g. BBC News Headlines) and smaller blogs (e.g. short and sweet movie reviews) on the web. It allows for the aggregation of updates to web sites, greatly reducing the time and effort to check favorite sites or web logs and it allows these sites more effective distribution of new content. As a user you can go to an RSS feed reader for an aggregation of all updates to all your favorite web sites and blogs without having to go to each one or getting numerous updates through e-mail cluttering up your mail box. RSS feeds are searchable and can help sites gain higher readership. A good short summary of RSS is provided at the feedburner.com site. FeedBurner is a service that "allows publishers who already have RSS Feeds to improve their understanding of and relationship with their syndication audience."
Some other recent articles on RSS that are found on the Feedburner sites include:
Aggregators Attack Info Overload
Ryan Singel Wired
Welcome to the 'new' Web, same as the old 'old Web
Christine Boese CNN Headline News
QUESTIONS: Will RSS live up to its hype? What are its best practical business applications beyond the basic benefit of more efficient web information access? Is that enough?
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