I released a new product last weekend, Tetra, that integrates with my RSS to HTML conversion script (CaRP) to put RSS newsfeeds into a DHTML (JavaScript) scroller. Tetra supports AJAX, enabling dynamic updating of the scroller's contents without requiring the webpage to be reloaded. A large number of feeds could be aggregated into one scroller,...
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RSS feeds were originally used to point to content on websites, and did not carry anything more than a title or brief introduction to the content. It was natural to assume that syndication of feeds--republishing of them by third parties--was allowed and even desired, because it drove traffic to the publisher's website. But the way...
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While listening to a podcast about how RSS feed readership is measured, an idea for improving measurement of readership of feed and also web pages occurred to me. One of the things that makes it difficult to accurately measure traffic to any internet resource is that there may be proxy servers between the resource and...
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David Megginson posted today about The case against easier feed subscriptions, noting that if it's too easy to subscribe to a feed, it will also be too easy to sneak a subscription into someone's feed reader and use it for illegitimate purposes. The response I posted was as follows:

"Good point! The approach I'd favor...
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People have always tended to see the world in their own image. However advanced our powers of empathy may become, our own opinions and perceptions remain more prominent in our consciousness than those of others. Lately, I've noticed that the illusions in my world seem to be growing stronger--more completely crowding out the part of...
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A long time ago in an IETF working group not so far away, there was a big discussion over whether an Atom feed is really just an Atom entry that contains other entries. At the time, I wrote a long email on the subject, but kept putting off sending it, so it's been languishing in...
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Tim Bray sent a message to the Atom Working group mailing list today declaring that, other than changes to the last draft that consensus has already been reached on, the Atom format is, for all practical purposes, done. There are a few more steps to be completed before it's official, as Tim notes:

"Note that...
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Since I posted What's still wrong with Atom (and probably will be in 1.0), a few of the issues I mentioned have been resolved. Here's a quick overview of those issues, plus two more. The number of asterisks under each indicates how much I wish the issue would be resolved (1=no big deal, 5=very sad...
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Google AdSense for Feeds: "Google AdSense for Feeds

AdSense for feeds is a program that enables publishers to place relevant ads in the feeds they syndicate. Google technology understands the nuances of language, and places ads that are closely matched (or 'targeted') to the content next to which they appear. [...]

If [...] your feed...
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Two simple steps to higher search engine placement: "Search Engine Optimization doesn't have to mean paying gobs of money to self-proclaimed professionals with questionable qualifications. Nor does it have to mean hiring an army of copywriters to fill your site with content. Two simple steps will boost your search engine ranking and give visitors a...
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