Definition

RSS stands for Rich Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication and is a XML message format for syndicating blog, news and other Web content. RSS has also been used to refer to RDF Site Summary, the first version of RSS. Essentially, all three terms are versions of the same  technology.

RSS is often used to generically refer to all forms of Web feeds, including the competing standard, Atom.

RSS feeds offer users privacy, convenience and the ability to filter and search content. Feeds are read using news aggregators, which can either be a standalone application or Web-based tool. By subscribing to feeds,  users can easily skim information from multiple sites and blogs without  visiting the individual sites or sign up for e-mail newsletters.

Business applications

The obvious benefit of RSS to business is the technology gives companies another way to keep in touch with customers and readers. By  offering feeds to public content, businesses do not have to incur the costs of e-mail  campaigns to push content to readers or risk that costumers will “forget” their  Web sites. On the other hand, they also may lose the contact data and information gleaned from Web site visits.

RSS is outgrowing its consumer roots as companies and vendors explore how the potential business applications for RSS. Dana Gardner, a  principal analyst of Interarbor Solutions and ZDNet blogger, noted in 2007 that  enterprises were exploring the use of custom feeds as a way to promote in-house content.

One obvious use is to syndicate internal content within the organization, an application that might be able to revitalize corporate intranets, as IT Business Edge Blogger Ann All pointed out. Businesses are using RSS feeds to monitor data warehouse quality, streamline  document management and communicate with business partners.

During the past two years, niche vendors have begun to use RSS in mashups to  offer business products, including solutions that allow business users to  perform basic data integration. Gardner calls these vendors “feed bleed providers” and lists that Apatar, JackBe and StrikeIron as vendors  who offer tools for “mashing up” and presenting on-site content.

David Lavenda, vice president of marketing and product strategy at WorkLight, which provides enterprise-class Web 2.0 solutions, explained in this IT Business Edge interview how a business user might use RSS feeds to share templates to  distribute documents as well as information.

Security Issues

Some have expressed concern about the security of RSS feeds.  These concerns have been hypothetical and little has been written on the topic  in recent years. In 2005, Greg Reinacker, the founder and CTO of NewsGator  Technologies, argued there is no need for additional RSS-specific protocols, since RSS is  transported by HTTP and the same security protocols.

Reinacker also noted, however, that there are security best practices that news aggregators should follow.

Technical Notes

RSS was first developed and introduced by NetScape in 1999, although similar ideas had been tried before this. The specifications have been  under the Creative Commons license since 2003, thanks to Harvard, which  acquired them after a series of unusual events outlined on Harvard Law's Web  site. RSS files must conform to the XML 1.0 specification, as published on the World Wide Web Consortium Web site.

Creating feeds is a pretty simple process for IT divisions, requiring a server connected to the Internet for storing the feeds, a database  describing the content, and a server-side scripting language with access to your database.

There are enterprise RSS solutions you can buy. For instance, NewsGator, Attensa and KnowNow are known for their enterprise RSS  products. In addition to filtering, collaboration and access control,  enterprise RSS solutions typically support integration with other systems and run behind the firewall. As Web 2.0 tools such as blogging and social networking enter the workplace, RSS enterprise solutions could be absorbed and integrated into content management suites.

Related Knowledge Network Content