Atom Feeds Growing In Popularity
The new syndication format, Atom, was developed by a collective group of instituions and individuals. One of the larger supporters of this effort was Google, now owner of the very popular Blogger service. This new format is somewhat controversial for many bloggers -- many are still sitting on the fence regarding support on their own blogs.
Google gave one very strong wave of support a few days ago by officially switching the syndication format used in Blogger from RSS to Atom. As ZDNet notes:
Google's Blogger service is bypassing Really Simple Syndication in favour of an alternative technology, in a move that has sparked more discord in a bitter dispute over Web log syndication formats.
[...]
The battle between RSS and Atom has divided the blogging world since the summer, when critics of RSS came together to create an alternative format. Since then, a raft of blog sites and individuals have lined up behind Atom, while Yahoo has thrown its considerable weight behind RSS.
The Blogger decision to offer Atom only has angered supporters of RSS, who accuse Google of helping to splinter a wide network of RSS-using bloggers.
For most blog owners, it's simply a matter of choice. All developers have their own reasons for supporting one format or the other -- this decision seems to go against that spirit. Despite all the fuss, though, both standards will survive and thrive.