"There are some RSS directory sources out there, but its still hard to find them. Compare this with the built-in news group searching features found in all newsreaders and youre starting to see how this is a not so easy task for a newcomer."
I agree wholeheartedly. The first weblog directory site that releases an API for aggregator developers (thereby enabling them to include a decent search function) will gain huge mindshare, and will aid the adoption of RSS in the process. Feedster, Technorati, are you reading this?
Syndic8 already offers an API - we use it as part of Awasu :-)
Non-techies are a group of people we have specifically set out to cater for so we've put a lot of time into the installer and online help and support. We also present them with "channel packs", that is, sets of channels in various areas of interest to help them get started.
But I'd have to agree that the hardest thing is persuading people the value of it and to give it a go. Even techies :rolleyes: :-)
Roy,
This is why BottomFeeder has feed building wizards for:
Amazon
Feedster
Blogdigger
Google
Headline News Service
Yahoo News Service
and does auto-discovery to syndic8
Works very nicely....
I agree - the options for seamless access and utilization of RSS content by non-technical information workers is almost non-existent.
We've experimented with using Microsoft Office Research Services for delivering a rich search experience for RSS content sources. We do this by creating virtual RSS respositories (SmartSpaces) that also provide transformations to MOSTL (Smart Tags) and ORS (Office Research Services). Users simply subscribe to a research service through any Microsoft Office 2003 application and then begin to "discover" information that flows through the RSS collection for which the service is based.
I believe RSS will achieve rapid adoption at approximately the point in time when we stop calling it RSS. ;-)