Establishing RSS Advertising Standards

January 24, 2005

As the growth in RSS feeds continues and takes impressions from the website, there will be great pressure on publishers to monetize their RSS content - if the content is to remain free. One obvious means to create revenue is advertising. To keep the integrity of the medium intact and before we get too far down the road, it is important that RSS Advertising Standards are established early.

To initiate the effort for RSS Advertising Standards, Pheedo has been working closely with Feedburner and Syndicate IQ.

Some of the items that we've been discussing include:
1. Defining RSS metrics (clicks, impressions, views)
2. RSS ad sizes
3. IAB participation

We will be soliciting comments from publishers, advertisers and consumers as well as expanding the committee to include other interested parties. At the end of this, our goal is to make suggestions to the IAB. We welcome the IAB's support as well as yours. What we are NOT doing is forming a long-term standards group. This is just a steering committee that will make recommendations, period. Once the IAB sees a need to include RSS Advertising in their list of standards, we will gladly let them do what they do best. We are not by any means trying to own the process, but only to move it along in the right direction.

Once these standards are in place, buying and measuring ads in content feeds will be easier for advertisers and agenices. Additionally, it will make it easier on publishers trying to sell their RSS ad inventory. And most importantly, we want consumers to continue to enjoy the experience.

I'll be posting regular updates on the progress. Your comments are welcome.

Posted by Bill Flitter on January 24, 2005 5:10 PM
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