When the Netscape portal released the original version of RSS in March of 1999, it was then called RDF. These letters stood for Resource Description Framework. The original concept behind RDF could be traced back to 1995, and specifically the Meta Content Framework that was developed by Apple’s Advanced Technology Group.
In July 1999, Netscape released its first updated version of RDF, which known as RSS 0.91. During this time, RSS was met with wide approval by web publishers who were looking for a fast and easy way to syndicate their content across the web. Since 1999, RSS been a top choice for web users longing for the convenience of instantly receiving news via RSS feeds for websites they used.
When you think of all of the internet trends and websites that have come and gone since the dawn of the new millennium, it makes you wonder how anything on the web can last 15 years? According to mostpopularwebsite.net, only four of the top ten web destinations have been around as long as RSS. Among these stalwarts are Yahoo, MSN, Ebay, and Google; and while Google and Ebay continue to do well, Yahoo and MSN have definitely had their ups and downs.
So what is it that continues to make receiving RSS feeds for my website valuable? Honestly, there is not anything particularly cool about it. You cannot use it to chat with your friends, and it is pretty worthless for tagging photos. Actually, the reason that nine percent of web users still rely on RSS for website news is the fact that it does not do all those things.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Google plus, RSS aggregators were designed for one thing; and that was to be a simple, reliable tool to access RSS feed for website news. People who chose, and still choose, to use RSS feeds for website news never expected anything more or less. No RSS user ever thought, “Hey, I am going to get an RSS for my website and share all my favorite feeds with my friends.” RSS users have always appreciated it as a simple, no nonsense tool for receiving their favorite news feeds from a single, convenient location.