RSS or Real Simple Syndication is a format used for syndicating news and content from websites or any other internet source. RSS is currently used for any kind of information that can be broken down into a common data pattern. Using RSS, users can monitor news, email, the weather or any update that they may require.

The origins of RSS came from a system called Meta Content Framework (MFC). MCF was a project funded by Apple in 1995 and the person responsible for the creation of the MCF system was Ramanathan V. Guha. Guha created an application called HotSauce and by 1996, a few hundred sites were creating MCF files and users used HotSauce to view these files. After Steve Jobs’ return to Apple in 1997, the project was scrapped and Guha left Apple to join Netscape.

Working along with a colleague called Tim Gray, who was one of the pioneers for XML, Guha started moving MCF to a XML format. This project was called Resource Definition Framework (RDF). Resource Definition Framework was specifically developed for representing metadata and the relationships between objects.

Microsoft, on the other hand, further developed MFC into a system called Channel Definition Format (CDF). Channel Definition Format is XML based and CDF can illustrate content and metadata from a website. CDF was introduced in Microsoft’s latest browser at the time, Internet Explorer 4.0. Microsoft later used CDF for their operating system software, Windows, and introduced Active Desktops.

Keeping Microsoft’s advances in view, Netscape launched a portal service called “My Netscape Network” and this portal service featured RSS for the first time. At this time, RSS stood for “RDF Site Summary” and using this technology, the portal was able to display headlines and data from other sites. The user was able to select what topics interested them and they received headlines under those topics all within the same page.

You can learn more about RSS on Wikipedia and on www.webreference.com and you can download a feed aggregator from FeedReader.

Soon, we will be looking at how RSS feeds can be used to help businesses and come up with new marketing ideas.

Current TV, launched by Al Gore, will be expanding with new broadband channels which will feaure “viewer-created content” (VC2) dealing with cars, travel, action sports, health and games. About 1/3 of the contect will be user-generated and the channel will be supported by ads.

Users upload their work on Current TV’s website and if selected by viewers who comment and vote on them, the users get paid and the video goes to 29 Million homes.

Check out Current TV here.

The voice of an individual has never been louder. Everyone is getting a chance to be a critic with access to social media like Wikis, blogs and review sites like SuggestAMovie.com and SuggestABook.com. Companies gain market share through favorable reviews and remarks towards their products/services and its time to take notice and harness the ‘power of the people’.

According to Jupiter Research, 77 percent of online shoppers use consumer generated product reviews/ratings and those who find them useful are more loyal to stores with reviews/ratings featured. Moreover, online buyers who write a lot of product reviews make up only 20 percent of the online shopping population but account for 32 percent of online sale.

So how does a company use this to their advantage? One of the tactics that companies use is that they write to bloggers asking them to review their products. Another tactic companies use, is that they sign up as a user with an unassuming name and post good reviews on their products. This obviously betrays the ‘trust’ part of Web 2.0 but hey, no one said there was going to be any fair play all the time.

Do you have any ideas on how companies could use Web 2.0 to their advantage?

Flock is an open source browser and it is built on Firefox. Flock calls itself a ‘social browser’ and integrates well with Web 2.0 services like flickr, Technorati and Del.icio.us (the traditional web browser bookmarks menu has been replaced in favor of close integration with del.icio.us), Flock also has a built in RSS reader which will help people keep up with their favourite blogs and other sources of information.

Flock also features a WYSIWYG drag and drop blogging tool and integrates with a number of popular blogging services, including WordPress, Six Apart and Blogger.

Click here to check out the browser of choice for the Web 2.0 user. You can also find Flock’s blog at http://flock.com/blog

Web 2.0 is a phrase that was coined by O’Reilly Media and it refers to the new trends in the internet world today. A main component of Web 2.0 is an application that is made more richer and powerful by the contribution from users all over the internet. Craiglist is a prime example of Web 2.0.

Another component of Web 2.0 is Ajax, which means Asynchronous JavaScript and XML. Ajax is used to make websites that behave more like software applications. A webpage does not need to refresh to show new content on a page, the content is refreshed and displayed real-time with out any delay.

A third component of Web 2.0 is trust. Trust among thousands of users who are contributing towards a common source of Knowledge. Wikipedia is a great example that shows how powerful Web 2.0 can become.

Watch this space for more imformation on Web 2.0 and we will also be focussing on Marketing 2.0.

‘The Venetian’ will begin trials of mobile gaming this year. The Venetian will be using hand-held gadgets that will enable their guests to play video slots, poker, blackjack and roulette from almost anywhere on the property.

The gamblers will not be able to use these devices in hotel rooms and parking garages because all gambling in Nevada is supposed to occur in public spaces.

Joseph Asher, managing director with Cantor Gaming, said the first wave of the devices will be converted PDAs with 3-by-2-inch color screens, the brand of which he declined to disclose. Gamblers will have to show proof that they’re over 21 and put a security deposit down via credit card, but any money wagered must come from either cash or from a line of credit with the hotel, per Nevada law forbidding charges to credit cards for gambling funds.