Yahoo Pipes makes RSS more alien
I gave Yahoo Pipes, the new RSS mashup online tool, a try last week. And I couldn’t disagree more with Anil Dash’s assessment that it would make it possible for non-experts to create new web services.
Granted, the interface uses drag-and-drop ease, thanks to Ajax. But that doesn’t make it any easier. Because it is as comprehensive as Ning.com, it still requires a degree of learning that more focused tools like RSSmix.com don’t require.
It can be argued that the learning curve isn’t that steep. But this assumes that the average non-expert can quickly see the benefits of Pipes as an RSS data filter and streamliner and take that leap.
Based on the editorials and comments on various sites that reviewed Pipes, there was a clear concern that most people wouldn’t envision the benefits. It was also clear from the language of the initial announcement that Pipes is for uber geeks.
It concerns me that the new tools coming out for RSS are branded as geek tools and don’t make it any easier for the mainstream users to accept RSS. And in fact serve to alienate them.
