RSS Advisory Board Goes Public

A new era begins today for the RSS Advisory Board, an independent organization formed in 2003 that publishes the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) specification, helps developers create RSS applications and broadens public understanding of the format.

The board is taking on eight new members: Meg Hourihan, Loic Le Meur, Eric Lunt, Ross Mayfield, Jenny Levine, Randy Charles Morin, Greg Reinacker and Dave Sifry. I'm serving as chairman this year unless they kick me to the curb.

The new members are an accomplished group that includes software developers, tech execs, educators and writers, all of them outspoken on the subjects of syndication and related technology, and all of them avid bloggers.

Under the board's charter, the organization holds its deliberations on RSS-Board and encourages feedback from RSS publishers, software developers and users on RSS-Public.

I'm bringing the first item to the board: a proposed specification for RSS that represents completely new documentation for the existing RSS 2.0 format.

This new specification is dubbed "Rss-Draft-1" and has not been adopted by the board. It's offered to encourage public review for at least 60 days. The goal of the spec is to make RSS simpler to implement by providing examples for all elements, better presentation and a more formal approach.

As an RSS Advisory Board member since May 2004, I'm glad to see the organization continue in a manner that encourages the public to take an active role in the effort.

Rss · 2006/01/30 · 7 COMMENTS · Link

Comments

Thanks Rogers! It's great to see forward movement and I really appreciate the chance.

#1 · Randy Charles Morin · 2006/01/30

You stated that one purpose of the RSS Advisory Board is to broaden public understanding of the format. I think this should be job one. Of course that's coming from a person who thought blog was something you spit up while drinking too much but before you really started hurling real vomit. My point is this. There are lot of us that think that blogging is just writing a short column every day for people to read. And that's why a lot of people are going to the one-stop blogging places where they set it all up for you and you just write your content. I think if you want people to understand this and get into it at this level you have to give them reasons why. The perception I have and many others have is that what you are talking about is just for computer geeks. I read your blog fairly regularly and I even read the technical blog stuff though I don't understand it. But I never have read why I should do a blog by handling all this technical stuff myself or why I should care about some of these issues. Of course I come at this from a public relations angle which dictates you always try to appeal to the broader base. And the way you do that is tell a personal story or give them a reason or example of how something affects their daily lives in a tangible way. Just a thought.

#2 · LoneStar J.R. · 2006/01/31

RSS should interest you as a PR exec because it's is a channel companies can use to reach customers directly.

Are you using My Yahoo? It's showing thousands of people the benefits of RSS without telling them they're soaking in it.

#3 · Rogers Cadenhead · 2006/01/31

Great link, Rogers. I love RSS, having tinkered with it for years. May your rule as Chairman be long and productive :)

#4 · Mike DeWolfe · 2006/01/31

All can be!

#5 · Aart Aarni · 2006/02/12

Please explain why Dave Silfry and Greg Rinacker resigned from the board. it is my understanding that Silfry was asked to step down.

#6 · Bill Drew · 2006/02/27

Dave Sifry's resignation is covered by his posts to the RSS-Board mailing list: 35 and 50. Greg Reinacker's is covered by message 51.

#7 · Rogers Cadenhead · 2006/02/27