How RSS and Aggregators will change the definition of the browser and the internet...

Back in the late 90's, when the number of internet users started to double every month, a lot of people had experimented with the 'PUSH' technology, v the traditional 'PULL' approach, meaning, that content on the web be brought to the user, without he/she having to go look up numerous websites to get the information one was seeking for; one simply needed to get connected to the internet, open their browser and information flow would begin. All the content from various 'channels' would be routed to this client as and when it was published, and the client software would then automatically refresh every 15 minutes or so, to show new content to the browser.

A lot of websites and tools on the web still use this technology from back then, but it never got towards becoming a rage.

In the next couple of years, services like Moreover.com started to appear that helped developers syndicate news from a news provider and use it for consumption on any client.

Enter current day, and now we have a few sites supporting what's known as RSS (Really Simple Syndication). This will help you subscribe to fresh content updates from any of your chosen content providers (News sites, finance updates to even your favorite blogs...yes, blogs) to be delivered to your desktop, using a tool called an 'Aggregator'.

A simple tool could look like Outlook Express with the content providers listed on one side and new feeds that look like mails sent to you being shown in the main pane.

Another refinement could be a tool that pretty much looks like your browser, but allows you to choose where you want to see what, ending up to look like a personal home page.

Well, so far so straight forward, huh? So, why so much noise about this????

Because, in the days to come, the browsers will make way for aggregators aka the personal web page, making the use of browsers redundant for pure consumption of information.

Aggregators still have to go a long way, and the one to beat the market with the best model, will win the battle for the new age and may even emerge to be the next 'Google' story, while Google is working on pushing Ads also through RSS feeds, along with the required content.

The data that Aggregators collect can tell us more about a person than what Amazon can tell about you. Now, do you see a business case? Personalized Marketing will become a reality. Companies end up spending much lesser on their marketing efforts, while still being able to achieve a higher conversion ratio.

Of course, there are severe privacy issues to contend with, and users can choose to let their data be used to fine tune their personalization.

There are several other uses of the aggregator, one prominent use could be for rural education and dispersal of valuable information. I will write about this use in another post.