RSS - the Shiva of the publishing business

The director of digital publishing at the Guardian, Simon Waldman, has posted a transcript of a presentation he gave at World Editor’s Forum in Seoul earlier this year (via JD Lasica):

"...we believe that the trends we are currently seeing with RSS are going to be a critical factor in our long term publishing strategy.

Generally, I have found with online publishing, things tend to become opportunities if you wan them to be. If you treat them as obligations, they tend to stay that way."

I think this last thought - about how you approach disruptive technologies - is so true. A number of times I've felt myself go into a temporary mode of denial when I realise that everything I thought I knew may have to be re-thought, fortunately snapping out of the paralyses, ready to experiment.

If I were in the publishing business today, I'd be screaming to my peers: 'RSS is the Shiva of the publishing business!'