How Long Will It Take For Widespread RSS Adoption?

While the Internet publishing uses of RSS are essentially limitless, it remains more of a background, less-visible technology than HTML. This may mean that the adoption of RSS will take much longer than us RSS evangelists are hoping for. What can be done to change this, to increase the adoption rate?

Currently, Internet content publishers do not perceive the benefits of RSS, and are further hindered from this realization since the general Internet-using public hardly knows about RSS. Furthermore, there are very few "sexy" applications of RSS that don't also require using new software. (Although AJAX - Asynchronous Javascript and XML - may change this.) On the other hand, the Internet in its infancy was sexy to consumers, and still is today, compared to RSS.

Another hindrance to the adoption of RSS is that attention spans seem shorter than a decade ago. People do not want to learn a new software technology if there is no motivation to do so. What can RSS offer consumers that HTML doesn't already offer functionally?

Well, easier consumption of multiple feeds from multiple sources is a primary feature of RSS. But is the value of this feature sufficiently alluring enough to get content consumers to use new software (i.e., RSS readers)? We probably cannot answer this question conclusively just yet, but the answer so far appears to be "no". So what can we do to encourage adoption of RSS?

There are actually three fronts of adoption: publishers, content consumers, and application developers. All three fronts have to adopt RSS in synchrony, but not simultaneously. This is not happening yet.

If application developers can create an application that will appeal to content consumers, content publishers will sign on. This synchrony will drive the adoption of RSS if everyone (including RSS evangelists) plays their part. (Note that RSS marketers are typically associated with publishers, and sometimes RSS evangelists.)

Specifically, one possible approach is to use RSS in hardware-based applications such as podcasting playlists to car radios or even a new breed of "wi-fi internet radios", and content feeds to pagers and PDAs/cellphones, wi-fi libraries on ipod-like devices, etc. These may just be sufficiently "sexy" applications to catalyze widespread adoption of RSS.

Take the case of Canada's RIM (Research in Motion). They produced the Blackberry text/paging device and had to initially offer the infrastructure to support the device. Until other companies realized the value of the Blackberry.

Consumer electronics has the benefit of a physical interface that the average consumer can easily absorb and understand, and for which they do not need a computer. If publishers use RSS to provide content for electronic devices, consumers can easily become "adopters" of RSS.

The net result is that content publishers will then see the need/benefits to also adapt their content to the type of Internet uses evangelists are currently focused on trying to promote. This in turn gives curious consumers opportunities to dip into non-hardware uses of RSS content, after initial shallow exposure via hardware applications.

To summarize, the adoption of RSS has to come from three fronts: publishers, consumers, and application developers, and has to be spurred on by RSS evangelists/journalists. Adoption from each of these fronts will drive the other fronts. But until we have RSS applications, via hardware or software, that are as enticing as the Internet initially was, there will not be enough catalyzing actions to gain widespread use of RSS.