DecisionCast Announces IDG’s InfoWorld as Media Sponsor for RSS WinterFest 2004

PORTLAND, Ore. Dec. 15, 2003–DecisionCast, a Portland, Oregon-based Web conferencing company, announces that InfoWorld Media Group will be the media sponsor for RSS WinterFest 2004, a free, two day Webcast, wiki, and Weblog event on January 21-22, 2004, that will explore the uses, applications, and future of RSS and Internet content syndication.

RSS (or Really Simple Syndication) is receiving increasing attention as a technology that individuals as well as enterprises can use to communicate more effectively. RSS allows content to be sent directly to a person’s desktop from a Website or Weblog without going through e-mail. Content providers use RSS to deliver stories, headlines, and updates from their Weblogs to their readers/subscribers. More and more companies and organizations are using RSS to alleviate e-mail overload as well as to manage projects, deliver important information, create effective knowledge management and content management systems, and push information to their customers.

InfoWorld is a pioneer in the use of RSS. The publication provides an additional channel through which readers can receive InfoWorld’s in-depth news and analysis. “With RSS we’ve been able to deliver our readers the precise information they are interested in when they want it,” says Chad Dickerson, CTO of InfoWorld. “As an early adopter of RSS, we have a unique insight into how the technology benefits both content providers and users.”

RSS WinterFest will be a forum to discuss RSS and its future as a technology for use within and outside of the enterprise. Attendees may choose which events they want to attend. They may also contribute by posting to their Weblog or to the wiki. Moderators will highlight Weblogs and the wiki during the Webcast and the intermissions.

Case studies will include those from a media campaign in InfoWorld that distributed advertising through RSS feeds, the Department of Justice and those from companies that have implemented RSS and other Internet content syndication technologies.

“The goal for RSS WinterFest 2004 is to elevate the discussion about RSS and other forms of Internet content syndication,” said Alexander H. Williams, president and founder of DecisionCast. “InfoWorld adds so much to the discussion. We are honored that they are sponsors and participants in RSS WinterFest 2004.”

DecisionCast is producing RSS WinterFest with KnowLogix, a Portland-based research and consulting company. In conjunction with RSS WinterFest, KnowLogix will unveil its inaugural report: “RSS and the Future of Internet Content Syndication.”

“The report is designed for senior level decision makers,” said Cynthia Carlson, the founder of KnowLogix. “It provides a comprehensive explanation of the concept of Internet-based content syndication and its associated technologies and applications, both current and future. Content syndication-related business/enterprise opportunities also are explored.”

RSS WinterFest will include a mix of prominent technologists, business leaders, and media analysts. Featured speakers include:

— Anil Dash Vice President, Business Development, Six Apart

— Jon Udell, Lead Analyst, InfoWorld Test Center

— Chad Dickerson, CTO, InfoWorld Media Group

— Bill French, Co-Founder, MyST Technology Partners

— Robert Scoble, Technical Evangelist, US-.NET Platform Strategy, Microsoft Corporation

— Scott Johnson, Founder, Feedster

— Greg Reinacker, Founder, NewsGator

— Chris Pirillo, Founder, LockerGnome

— Ross Mayfield, CEO, Socialtext

— Greg Lloyd, President & Co-Founder, Traction Software

— Cynthia Carlson, Founder, Knowlogix

— Greg Rasmussen, Consultant, KnowLogix

— Matt McAlister, Vice President, General Manager, InfoWorld Media Group

— Derek Scruggs, Founder, Escalan

RSS WinterFest will be as much a Webcast as it will be a Weblog. It will be a new kind of event, designed to maximize and extend the scope of a traditional Webcast. It will use RSS and the open editing environment of a wiki (a Hawaiian term for quick) so that concurrent discussions can take place during the Webcast and through other discussion environments that DecisionCast provides. Socialtext, a leader in enterprise social software, is providing the wiki for RSS WinterFest.

Event attendees can post their own Weblog entries and use the open editing environment of a wiki to quickly create their own Web pages (no html required) as well as post documents, engage in chat sessions, and participate in a new form of social networking.

Other sponsors of RSS WinterFest include Socialtext, NewsGator, MyST Technology Partners, Feedster, and Serence. For more information about sponsoring RSS WinterFest, please contact Alex Williams.

For more information about RSS WinterFest and to register, please visit the RSS WinterFest Web site