Web Forefront

Currently RSS is something that can be viewed through third party readers and browsers like Firefox, which upon basic instructions can poll your favorite sites for RSS feeds and display up to the minute information right on your desktop. A process which obviously Microsoft wants to be a part of with Internet Explorer and other web based software.

But besides the aforementioned reasons, it also avoids a users need to provide email address for updates, this by itself could be seen as a big advantage for spam weary surfers. But let's dig deeper into RSS, and see other reasons why Microsoft might really want RSS 'everywhere'.

RSS from a technical point of view is : organized data that is machine consumable and platform agnostic. RSS provides a structured way in which to distribute site data, but contrary to the typical web page designed to be 'viewed', RSS's content is set to be consumed in a device independent manner -- not necessarily viewed -- but consumed for other purposes, and being based on an XML, achieves the capability of operating on distinct platforms.

In other words, its a stepping stone onto the Semantic Web , a vision set out by members of the W3C for the next generation web.Curiously, the semantic web holds the key to lowering the barrier or loosening the stronghold now exercised by today's 'killer' app : Search.

Once the web is organized -- a utopian overstatement obviously -- or at a minimum its content is more intelligently classified -- as the semantic web vision proposes -- the power to locate and consume desired information will be lowered.Something that Microsoft is especially keen on doing, given their current lack of presence in search related markets, at least compared to players like Google.

Microsoft 'big bet' on RSS will surely be an interesting one, especially considering it has far further implications than RSS itself.

Update: Seems they are pushing onward RSS 'extensions' published by Microsoft