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By Steve Horton
iProduction

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ST. PAUL, MN – September 3, 2003 – iProduction today announced that RSS capabilities are now an optional module of the iProduction Internet Publishing System™. RSS, short for Rich Site Summary, Really Simple Syndication, and possibly other descriptions, is a code format used for Internet-based content distribution and aggregation. It is a cost-effective and relatively simple means to share news and information among different Web sites and directly with readers. The initial code for RSS was developed by Netscape in the 1990s, but only recently became popular among content creators and news consumers.

One reason RSS became popular is because it enables bloggers (short for Web log content publishers) to easily distribute fresh news stories without having to rely on complicated programming or expensive host computers. Another is because RSS facilitates the reverse, enabling Web publishers and news consumers to acquire, or aggregate, stories from content creators.

Early blogs took the form of personal journals or daily diaries. More recently, however, news columnists, book authors, professional freelance writers, and corporate communication departments have begun blogging.

“We’re convinced that e-mail will remain a viable push publishing format despite spam and virus problems,” said iProduction President Stephen M. Laliberte. “Yet syndication is becoming more popular, and we’re excited about incorporating RSS technology into the iProduction Internet Publishing System™."

Laliberte said the blogging community generally promotes a free exchange of content. iProduction advises commercial content creators to distribute only headlines and story “snippets” for free rather than the entire story. “We advise against giving high-value content away for free,” Laliberte said. “That’s why iProduction clients stay in business.” Laliberte believes that RSS is currently in a nascent stage, and that pay site publishers will soon learn how to monetize the format.

More About iProduction
iProduction is a privately held publishing software company headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Publishing companies of all sizes rely on iProduction’s flagship product, the Internet Publishing System™, to manage publication content, sell subscriptions, process payments, deploy e-mail publications, manage site advertising, search content archives, and more. Many iProduction clients choose to pay monthly application service fees to avoid hiring programmers or purchasing host computer systems. Larger publishers with many online titles may choose to license iProduction software to reduce per-site costs. iProduction clients include magazines, newsletters, business journals, newspapers, and corporate marketing departments. Laliberte founded iProduction in 1994. The company currently employs 12 people.