I’d say that RSS could be the future, just so long as it is delivered so seamlessly that most folks could not tell the difference.

Problematically, RSS is still not quite a household word yet, and even the software industry is just beginning to realize the importance of this workhorse syndication format. Though at this point it’s already clear RSS will be the key enabler of Web 2.0 and Software As a Service. It will do this both as a notification system and as the actual glue that will eventually hold many Web 2.0 services and mash-ups together.

Dave Winer famously created the current incarnation of RSS but its implications are still rippling through the industry. The folks that can fully appreciate RSS will reap corresponding rewards. Microsoft CTO’s Ray Ozzie is a good example of the folks that “get” the significance of RSS. I love the quote from his much-discussed leaked memo this week and I haven’t been able to stop using it for the last day: “[RSS] is filling a role as ‘the UNIX pipe of the internet’ as people use it to connect data and systems in unanticipated ways.” [Read the rest]

Tags: rss, web 2.0, software as a service