Debating the future of full-text RSS feeds

Ad-supported full text RSS feeds are gaining traction, according to Don Loeb, FeedBurner’s VP of Business Development. Loeb discussed RSS feed monetization last evening at a New York Software Industry Association panel, DIY Media: Revolution or Hype.

Today, FeedBurner launched a “platform for positioning advertising on web sites and blogs by leveraging the structure of Web feeds..By using the content and the structure of RSS and Web feeds, FeedBurner gives advertisers unique new placements — such as continuous ads, ads that dynamically appear only on content posted within specific timeframes, ads associated with highly active content (e.g. blog posts with comments or those that have been emailed)…

The future of full-text RSS feeds is under debate:

John Batelle says: the question of who makes money off other folks content is a big one. For now, the industry has settled into a quid pro quo of "headlines and snippets for clickthru traffic". But readers don't care about that. They want their content where they want it.

Steve Rubel says: I gotta wonder if plagiarism will kill full-text feeds one day. My blog is republished all across the Web. I have come to accept there's nothing I can do about it. I am personally not ready to give up full-text feeds by a long shot. However, I bet I am in the minority.

Robert Scoble says: 1) That I won’t subscribe to any feed that isn’t full text… 2) That treating RSS readers well will get you more Web browser readers. 3) That full-text sites will be more profitable because of this than partial-text sites. What people who say that full-text RSS hurts their advertising possibilities don’t get is that if you treat connectors, bloggers, journalists better, you’ll get MORE audience to your Web pages, which will get you more advertising hits.

Will full-text RSS feeds become the norm? Join the conversation: “Talk Back” below to join the debate.