Feedpass is a new service that provides an RSS subscription page (or landing page) where people can quickly subscribe to your RSS feed from a variety of RSS readers and email readers. For example, this Feedpass page for BloggersBlog.com's feed provides links for subscribing to BloggersBlog's feed at many different RSS readers. Link buttons are also provided for RSS email tools like Squeet and Feedblitz. Feedpass also gives instructions for subscribing to feeds using different browsers. Because the number of RSS readers and feed services are becoming overwhelming an RSS landing page like Feedpass could be very useful to feed owners. The Feedpass Blog and the The RSS Blog explain some of Feedpass' features. Feedpass also places Google Adsense advertisements on the landing pages and will share revenues with people who register.
However, there is a controversy surrounding Feedpass because it will let anyone set up a Feedpass landing page using anyone's feed. For example, anyone could set up a Feedpass page for your feed, our feed, BoingBoing's feed or a New York Times feed and then share AdSense revenues generated by the page with Feedpass. TechCrunch and The Social Software Blog have been discussing this disturbing aspect of Feedpass. One of the reader comments on the post at the Social Software Blog is from Jim at Feedpass who says that if there are feed publishers who don't want people to be able to create a Feedpass for their blog or site they can contact Feedpass with the name and URL of the feed.
We'll remove any feed publisher from our system that doesn't want to play and we'll simply notify our users, when they attempt to create a feedpass, what that publisher's stance is on the matter.
That's good but it would still be easier for everyone if Feedpass would only let the actual feed owners register and list feeds in the first place. Forcing feed owners to opt-out will always be cheesier than letting feed owners opt-in. There isn't much purpose in letting non-owners create Feedpass landing pages except to let people make money off other people's feeds.
