Publishing and Marketing with XML, RSS and Atom
We recently mentioned the semantic Web and the tools and techniques behind it such as XML. XML/RSS/Atom are data exchange formats that are at the cornerstone of the blogging world. Blogs syndicate content, link to each other, trackback and distribute news using XML/RSS/Atom feeds. These data formats make it possible to exchange information that otherwise would be difficult.
The RSS and Atom feeds are an important part of marketing and advertising a Web site. The XML/RSS interchange data format is not very readable for humans, is frequently criticized, and many choose other formats such as Json when exchanging data with Ajax powered Web sites. This does not change the fact that XML, including RSS and Atom feeds, is the standard for data exchange and there are no viable alternatives in sight.
Despite the popularity of XML and RDF among blogs and Web 2.0, oriented Web sites there are many Web sites out there that are yet to reap the rewards of using these technologies. While looking over the data we assembled on the Web sites we have studied we noticed there are many Web sites that are yet to use XML and RDF to syndicate and distribute content or information. This could possibly delay adoption of the semantic Web, but once the ball starts rolling we guess everybody will jump on board and adopt necessary technology.
Related data:
According to our Web site study, 24.79% of Web sites we visited use XML or publish RSS feeds. Among business-to-business Web sites the adoption is lower with only 4.74% and, unbelievably, only 4% of the advertising Web sites we visited have XML. Among Web sites labeled as Web 2.0 sites and bloggers that we visited, the use of XML is 80.67%. Therefore, it might be tempting to draw a conclusion saying Web 1.0 is way behind Web 2.0 in using XML for publishing, marketing and advertising over the Web.
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