Microsoft and Yahoo vs. AOL and Google

Yahoo and Microsoft are reportedly working together so that users of their proprietary instant messaging and other free internet services can talk to each other.  Compatability across platforms will enable users greater freedom to use their preferred software regardless of what their friends or coworkers are using.

What it means for the larger internet industry is that these two powerhouses are going after people who are fans of AOL’s IM platform or the recently launched Google Talk.  Yahoo isn’t likely to bend over backwards to make sure GTalk is compatible with the new Y/MSN integration and nobody to my mind is going to go out of their way to please AOL now that they’ve suddenly embraced the open web as a means to survive.  Could those two now create their own compatible language?  That depends on how much code Google is willing to share with people outside its own sandbox.

A call to action on RSS

OK, I’ve done my complaining and moaning over the universal RSS icon that Microsoft and Mozilla have agreed upon.  I’ve stated my belief that what’s needed is not a shiny package but better education on the whats, whys and wherefores of RSS.  So instead of just being a 30-year old internet version of Andy Rooney on the subject let’s figure out what we can do better.

I’m going to start an open-source project with the goal of making RSS simple and easy to understand and use by the masses.  Anyone want in?  The thought behind it is to make it so simple that a stay-at-home mom could get it and be using RSS within a day.

(By the way, there’s no assumption of intelligence behind that statment.  I simply use it because stay-at-home moms have pressures and distractions that don’t make for a lot of time to sit down and spend 20 hours figuring out what something is.  They want the equivalant of plug-and-play.)

I’m willing to setup and maintain a Writeboard for the community to write this.  We need a document that can present to the world as the single most succinct and useful reference on RSS usability that can be found.  Email me (cthilk-at-bacons-dot-com) if you would be interested in contributing to this.  I’ll admit I’m not the smartest guy in the world but a lot of you out there come awfully close so I think we can do this.

Why the word blog no longer matters

I just visited the website for The Food Channel.  The outlet originated as a mailed newsletter to foodies and eventually branched out to the web, as did most publications in some form or another.  Well now they’ve switched what was a standard website to one driven off a blogging platform (not sure which one but it kind of looks like TypePad or MoveableType).

What has changed about the content?  Nothing, really.  They’re still putting out the same material only doing it dynamically instead of on static pages.  And that’s why I think the term blog is no longer relevant, at least not to anyone looking for or contributing good information to the internet world.  Blogging used to be something the elite few did for any of a variety of reasons.  But if you’re creating a website that, for all intents and purposes, looks and feels just like those sites of olden years (1998) but you’re doing so via a blogging platform, what do you call it?

Calling it a blog isn’t quite right since it’s just a new publishing vehicle for the same website.  But mainstream media, mostly because they don’t dive any deeper into definitions, will likely refer to anything that shares any traits with a blog as a blog.  But it’s not.  But it uses blogging software.  But it’s not a blog.

Do you see why we need a new term for this?  Actually that’s not quite right.  We need an old term.  We need the term “website.”  Calling something a “blog” automatically devalues it in the eyes of some people.  So I propose we stop using the term “blog” when referring to internet media that is driven off a blogging platform.  Since the line is so dotted and faded to begin with I don’t think we’ll lose much by dropping it from our vocabulary.  We may even open some people’s eyes to outlets they might have ignored in the past.

Of course I realize that this very site is called “Bacon’s Blog” and that I just created a ton of work for myself, but that’s what I do: make my own life harder.

More on that darn icon

Both Neville Hobson and Steve Rubel jump on the RSS icon bandwagon, saying that it’s incumbent on blog and website publishers to get the icon that Mozille and Microsoft teams agreed upon on their blogs.  I’ll think I’ll just stay right I am and not jump into action right now, thank you.

As Tom Biro and I both said icons are all well and good and having a standard icon for RSS could certainly help with mass-adoption of the technology, but the main factor that will influence usage is education.  If people have time they devote to creating standards, how about creating a standard “how-to” guide for visitors to your site to read that will explain to them in simple, easy to understand terms, how to subscribe to the feed.

When someone asks me how to use RSS here’s what usually follows:

ME: “When you see that orange chicklet – or text that says ’subscribe to this feed’ – then right click and copy the link…”

THEM: “What do you mean copy the link?”

ME: You should have the option when you right-click to ‘copy link location.’ Select that.  Then go to your aggregator…”

THEM: Could you explain the aggregator again?”

ME: (ponders public suicide)

The company that takes the lead on this public education program could very well be seen as the Jonas Salk of the information age.  Allowing everyone to choose a technology that lets them select content that can be viewed on their schedule in an easy to skim and read format would be a huge step forward.

The two ideas actually need to be combined.  Everyone sign on to a standard icon but have that icon point to a standard definition/usage guide.  Within that the publication can list their RSS feeds.  That way both goals are accomplished.

Bringing RSS to the masses

Tom Biro pointed me to this story from Microsoft’s Robert Scoble.  Seems a group of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer developers took a road trip to Mozilla headquarters to have a chat about coming up with a standard icon for RSS/XML feeds.  The one they decided on, to be integrated into IE7 whenever it appears, is pictured to the left and is essentially what Mozilla currently uses in the Firefox browser.

While I think it’s great that the two parties have come to some form of consensus (even if it is notable as a measure of just how far Microsoft’s influence has waned) it is, in essence, pointless.  The parties that need to be involved in making sure RSS is widely adopted are not the browser developers or other tech folk, it’s the publishers.  Most people’s first experience with RSS is going to be through visiting their favorite blog or news site.  If they don’t understand it at that point they’ll never get to trying to integrate it into their browser or reader or whatever else they use.

The better thing for the public would be more information on the sites publishing these RSS feeds.  The education needs to begin there.  Browser developers and aggregators need to make sure their tools work with the disparity and variety of chicklets/icons/formats that appear on those sites and then it will be ready for mass adoption.  So I’m not going to get excited about two developer teams talking amongst themselves.  I’ll wait for Microsoft to make sure their users understand and can use RSS wherever and however they might find it.

AOL’s future

Right now all the players vying for AOL, aside from current owner Time-Warner, are primarily online portals in some sense of the word.  Both Microsoft and Google are interested in AOL because of the potential for ad revenue generated through search.  Improving AOLs search – or at least bringing the company in-house – if vitally important to to both companies as they seek to be the biggest player in the search game.

But why aren’t any media companies getting in on the bidding?  Both AOL and Yahoo have had some measure of success as media providers, either through original content or TV shows that have been repurposed from cable and broadcast networks.  AOL could potentially be a powerful distribution method for on-demand viewing considering the rise in broadband in homes.  If it could draw people to its site as a waypoint on the road to finding a new or old show that would have a 10 or 15-second commercial attached to the front it.  That way ad revenue is maintained or even grown while serving content to the audience on their own schedule.  By ignoring AOL it seems that content producers could be ignoring an opportunity.

[standard disclosure: I write for a number of Weblogs, Inc blogs. WIN is owned by AOL.]

Time digests Sullivan

Time Magazine announced that Andrew Sullivan, publisher of the popular Daily Dish blog, will be bring DD inside the Time tent beginning in January.  It’s yet another example of big media realizing that blogs are where the influentials are increasingly turning so they’d better latch on to that if they want to survive.

I’m sure it’s a great relief to Sullivan to have a home and a publisher instead of wandering the vast wilderness on his own.  Corporate ownership of blogs can be a good thing if – and only if – they are (or remain) real blogs.  What does that mean?  A minimum of editorial oversight (just enough to make sure things are on the up and up), a free spirit and sense of authenticity.  Those are the traits that made blogs so appealing in the first place.  Considering Time has a pretty good online history I’m hopeful that they’re one of the media organizations that “gets” blogging, both in terms of creation and reading.

Jeff Jarvis thinks, though, that Time is going about this all wrong.  Instead of bringing Sullivan in-house it would have been better for them to advertise on his site or become his sole sponsor.  Doing so, Jarvis argues, would benefit brand extension more than proprietary ownership of Sullivan’s musing.  I’m not sure I agree in that even in a new media world there will still be – I think – hubs of information which content is centered around.  By signing Sullivan, Time has brought itself a bit more of that world to circle around its’ own unique star.

So what!

AdAge is running a poll asking if employers should allow their workers to read blogs at work.  As Joseph Jaffe rightly says, “I’m astounded by the nerve of MSM to even ask the question.”

Does AdAge – do employers for that matter – even realize how much of that reading is relevant to the industry they operate in?  If anything I would think that employers should encourage their employees to read blogs as a way to expand their knowledge and toolset.  Granted, there’s going to be some times that people will slip in a search for the teaser trailer to Superman Returns.  That’s not that much different than the time spent around the fabled watercooler in the grand old days, though.  Instead of attaching a stigma of doing something “wrong” to blog reading let’s educate both employees and customers on how they can use them as a knowledge base.

If you’re going to ban blogs than you need to make it a uniform policy for all media.  If you can’t read a blog than the company should also confiscate copies of US Weekly, Time Magazine and the newspaper at the door to make sure there is no outside media being consumed during the work day.  That includes copies of Advertising Age.  All knowledge must come from corporately approved sources.  When they’re willing to take that step then they discuss banning blogs.

Here’s how it was…

Earth got all used up, so we terraformed…

Wait.  That might be something else.

Welcome to Bacon’s Blog, brought to you by Bacon’s Information here in lovely (and cold) Chicago, IL. My name is Chris Thilk, a Senior Digital Media Specialist at Bacon’s.

Bacon’s Blog is designed and intended to be our voice in the conversation that’s going on in the PR/Marketing/Communications world.  Believe me, you should keep reading all those other blogs and sites since they all do their own particular brand of voodoo very well.  I’m hoping, though, that Bacon’s Blog can add something to your day and to your knowlege base.

While this is a blog from Bacon’s Information it will not be a corporate blog, meaning I’m not just here to talk about how fantastic Bacon’s is and such.  Will I talk about Bacon’s?  Sure, but only when appropriate and always in a manner that is upfront and honest.  I’m here to get in the conversation, not just be a corporate communications outlet.

The final thing you might be asking yourself is, “Why this guy?”  Good question.  Over the course of the last few years I’ve gone from being a blog neophyte to a heavy blog reader and user.  Personally I’ve run and have written for a number of blogs over the last few years.  I’ve also been tapped by Bacon’s to travel across the country (and boy are my arms tired) speaking on blogs and their place in the communcations mix to a number of PRSA chapters, an experience that has been invaluable to my education.   If you recognize my name it’s likely from either one of those blogs (including AdJab and Public Relations Ramblings) or one of my speaking gigs.

If you have any other questions they will probably be answered in the About section to the left (above the logo).  Other than that sit back and visit often.  And please, don’t judge the blog (or the company) by the photo on the left.  Yes, that’s me.  Sorry.

Quick Takes: 11/29/05

• Shel Holtz brings up a very real problem.  Not only do employers need to consider the risks/rewards of having current employees blogging but also ex-employees blogging.  That could make for some fun exit interview conversations.
• Creating blog evangelists takes a lot of work, but is a fantastic way to build word-of-mouth for your company.
• BusinessWeek is right, email is so five minutes ago.
• The record companies haven’t noticed, and I don’t quite agree, but there’s a growing feeling out there that albums as a music delivery mechanism are dead.
• On that same topic, Atrios has an interesting commentary on ownership of music, copyright protection and the public domain.