Google Unveils RSS Reader
- by Shankar Gupta , October 10, 2005
The same week that Google released its RSS reader, rival Internet company Yahoo! and research company Ipsos Insight published a study reporting that only 12 percent of the Internet users are aware of RSS by name. But Yahoo! also reported that nearly one in three--27 percent--of Internet users consume RSS content--without realizing that they're using an RSS service.
Forrester Research Analyst Charlene Li said Google was attempting to encourage brand loyalty by providing similar services as the major portals. "They're afraid that some people might be using Google search while spending time on MyYahoo! or My MSN or Bloglines," she said. "They want to get more user time on Google, so they're less likely to defect."
Li added it's unlikely that this release will bring RSS into the mainstream. "I think it's still going to remain pretty niche," she said. "RSS is going to break out when it gets integrated into the browser or e-mail--things that people use every day."
Google's free Web-based feed reader could be good news for RSS ad sellers. Dana VanDen Heuvel, director of business development for Pheedo, an RSS ad network, said that products such as Google's could make RSS "more ingrained in media consumption habits."
VanDen Heuvel added that RSS won't be mainstream until it's integrated into Web browsers, so that average users don't have to think about the technology itself. "Is the Google Reader going to do anything to enhance the user experience? That's where we see one of the major challenges of RSS," he said. "The fact of the matter is--the average user shouldn't have to get used to RSS. It should be something that's just as easy as browsing the Web or doing anything else on the Internet."
