Internet Changes Everything

Blogs, Posts, Permalinks, Syndication, RSS, newsreaders

These things are being regarded as synonymous, and yet they are all different and not necessarily dependent on each other. The confusion is further compounded because newsreaders = Outlook Express = Usenet in many folks minds. So I tried to lend my own definition here, and sort out which matters to whom.

Blogs - easily updated website using tools such as Blogger Pro, or Moveable Type. The key here is the simplicity with which you can create and update the web site. People used to maintain diaries, online thoughts and views pre 1999 but each page had to be hand coded using html. Blogs are as simple as a right click (Blogger Pro) and viola there is the input screen into which a person types their post, hits publish and that's it. Using FTP in the background the post is automatically added to the website, archived, and the web site re-ordered. It makes a mockery of sophisticated content management systems like Vignette, or Broadvision. While those tools have their place, the simplicity for simple changes is awe-inspiring.

Posts - A post is simply an entry into a blog. In this respect the best traditional coparison to a blog is a diary, or a journal. Key point is that each post is marked with a permanent and unique numerical identifier which becomes the URL for that post. So you can deep link to a post anywhere in your web site. Sounds complicated but its transparent to the user, and so simple.

Permalink - the permanent link to a post. The unique numerical identifier referred to under post.

Syndication - a new use for an old word. A web site can be "syndicated" to a news reader. The news reader will automatically "pull in" the content from the site as it is updated. It finds the content in a special file written in XML which is located on the syndicators web site. The link to blogs, is that the blog tool creates this special file automatically. This file is kept alongside your blog website. The newsreader checks to see if the file is updated and if so pulls in the content. Its as simple as that. It pulls it in a specific and consistent format, so it doesn't matter if the syndicator is the New York Times or me, the format is Title, Short description, and URL.

So in my newsreader I get other peoples blogs as well as News from BBC, NY Times, Guardian etc. News companies are a natural for using syndication because their content is continually being updated.

This is the latest iteration in "push technology" which as raved about in 1997 and PointCast was the leader then. But it died due to difficulties with format & standards, and duplication of work in building content. Syndication requires no additional work because the tools automatically generate the XML syndication file.

RSS- Official definition from webreference.com - "Rich Site Summary (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content." This is the file format, based on XML which is used for syndication. The user doesn't need to know anything about it. I just configure my Blog tool to automatically generate an RSS output, and send it to my website.

Newsreaders - The only other tool required. Its a piece of software which pulls your syndicated choices in and displays them for you. If you have a smart one, it can display them as a "newspaper" format. I can skim the worlds news in a few minutes, and then leave or drill down on any one story - my choice. I use FeedDemon written by Nick Bradbury. There are others, listed here, at the Guardian in an article on this topic.

No you cannot use Outlook Express News function for RSS. No doubt Microsoft are working on that, but right now you cannot.

September 22, 2003 at 07:29 AM in Blogging & feeds, Corporate Blogging | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home