Jay Cuthrell

Feeling So Really Simple Syndication

Moby - ‘Feeling So Real’ (1995)

Before we get into the origin, status, and future of RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication (RSS) or Atom it’s time for a quick work update. Oddly enough, there is a connection.

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Work Update

First, I shared my hashtag laden work update on LinkedIn.1 Next, I then shared my simple rebus and link work update on Twitter2 — but my POSSE methodology will reclaim what has been shared at some point.

(https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jaycuthrell_digitaltransformation-servicesolutions-finops-activity-6962755116223315969-AjQh)Reactions are endorphins 🙏🤓Jay Cuthrell @JayCuthrell👋Hi. I’m an #IBMer 👁🐝Ⓜ️

taos.com/resources/pres…(https://web.archive.org/web/20230000000000*/https://twitter.com/jaycuthrell/status/1557120025177243656?s=20&t=YmxcdliQBPfK5H45WTa9vg)Getting Informed

RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication (RSS) has existed for at least two decades — and Atom isn’t far behind — as a way to subscribe to articles you want to read before the days of keeping dozens of browser tabs open per website. Yet, the design goals of RSS/Atom appear to increasingly run counter to a growing deep web, silo content destinations, and monetization of the attention economy.

Interweb cats love the meaty new taste of content silos?When the topic of RSS/Atom comes up, for older generations of World Wide Web users there are often nostalgic callback moments. For example, the belief that the rise and eventual end of life for products like Google Reader was the first of many examples of “why we can’t have nice things” on the Interwebs after the .com era.

Set it up DJ 🎶

Me? I really liked Google Reader. In fact, I took some screenshots of Google Reader, hosted them on services like Flickr as a sort of visual blog about each new enhancement.

Circa 2007 - Google Reader told me what I tended to read.Circa 2008 - Google Reader enabled the taking of notes as a sort of meta blogCirca 2008 - Google Reader enabled the taking of notes as a sort of meta blogTake me away 🎶

The timeline of RSS/Atom feeds handling shows tension even now and likely for the future.

  • 1999: Resource Description Framework (RDF) Model and Syntax Specification is published
  • 2003: RSS Advisory Board is founded as Atom Syndication Format proposed as an RSS alternative
  • 2005: Google Reader launched by Google Labs
  • 2007: Google Search demotes use of RSS/Atom feeds
  • 2009: Google Search promotes use of RSS/Atom feeds
  • 2010: New York Times asserts rights over use of their own RSS feeds
  • 2011: “RSS is dead” memes become blog 👏 worthy 👏 content
  • 2012: Google Adsense for (RSS/Atom) Feeds is retired
  • 2013: Google Reader is retired
  • (several years of blog post lamentations and… a miracle occurs?)
  • 2022: RSS/Atom feeds are now associated with… podcasts and newsletters

That said, in the future, I believe that syndication will enjoy a renaissance moment as WebSub and similar Event Hub approaches take on consumer web, creator web, and future web considerations. Perhaps, even future career work updates will be syndicated too.

Until next time… Place your bets…

1Read: I’m starting a new position as SV P at Taos, an IBM Company! 👁 🐝 Ⓜ️

2Read: 👋Hi. I’m an #IBMer 👁🐝Ⓜ️

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