Hey, it was bound to happen at some point. Newspapers are finally beginning to clue into the fact that if they are going to keep their younger, geekier audience, they had better start implementing RSS into their content. The Seattle PI does this and we Washington folks are thankful of this. But how much longer before some of the other papers also jump on board with this? I think it could be awhile.

London - An increasingly popular technology called RSS is changing the way consumers get their news online, spurring several newspapers to launch their own customised software in an attempt to stay ahead of the curve.

Instead of having to go to a favourite Web site to see if any new articles have been published, a piece of software called an RSS reader pulls in headlines and text automatically, allowing users to create their own customised content from newspapers, blogs and even search engines.

In the past two weeks, the Los Angeles Times, Britain’s Guardian, and online news site CNET have announced plans to offer their own free, branded RSS readers, in part to guard against potential dangers to their business model.

“We think the developments that are happening with RSS are simultaneously very exciting and very frightening,” said Simon Waldman, director of digital publishing for Guardian Newspapers.

The technology could help well-known newspapers like the Guardian by exposing them to a wider audience, but papers will have little control over how their content is displayed. Even more importantly, RSS often strips out the advertising that is their primary source of revenue.