Superfeedr is a feed

API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how ...

built on

WebSub WebSub (formerly PubSubHubbub) is an open protocol for distributed publish–subscribe communication on the Internet. Initially designed to extend the Atom (and RSS) protocols for data feeds, the protocol can be applied to any data type (e.g. HTM ...

, which is sometimes referred to as PuSH. It transforms a variety of feeds into standardized

RSS RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many di ...

Atom Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons. Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...

, or

JSON JSON (JavaScript Object Notation, pronounced ; also ) is an open standard file format and data interchange format that uses human-readable text to store and transmit data objects consisting of attribute–value pairs and arrays (or other ser ...

format and distributes (or "pushes") them via WebSub or

XMPP Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP, originally named Jabber) is an open communication protocol designed for instant messaging (IM), presence information, and contact list maintenance. Based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), it ...

. This allows subscribers to receive new notifications or updated content from their feeds and publishers to send those notifications.

History

Superfeedr was launched by in 2009 by parent company Notifixious. While Notifixious' website went offline sometime between September 23, 2009 January 5, 2010, Superfeedr has remained online and available. While the website of Notifixious, the parent company of Superfeedr, is no longer available Superfeedr continues to refer to it in the terms of service for the site. Superfeedr was bought by

Medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

in 2016.

Technology

PuSH Push may refer to: Music * Mike Dierickx (born 1973), a Belgian producer also known as Push Albums * ''Push'' (Bros album), 1988 * ''Push'' (Gruntruck album), 1992 * ''Push'' (Jacky Terrasson album), 2010 Songs * "Push" (Enrique Iglesias s ...

is a protocol that relies on

webhook A webhook in web development is a method of augmenting or altering the behavior of a web page or web application with custom callbacks. These callbacks may be maintained, modified, and managed by third-party users and developers who may not necess ...

s to push feed updates in real-time from publishers to subscribers in a decentralized manner. PuSH builds on existing protocols, ensuring that polling infrastructures currently in use are not changed or broken on implementation, and that polling is still available as a back-up. Superfeedr acts as a “default” hub: a hub which works for any

Atom feed The name Atom applies to a pair of related Web standards. The Atom Syndication Format is an XML language used for web feeds, while the Atom Publishing Protocol (AtomPub or APP) is a simple HTTP-based protocol for creating and updating web re ...

, whether their publisher supports the protocol or not. Superfeedr also built a feed graph to identify updates in related feeds to avoid polling feeds too aggressively.

Features

Publishers are web applications that host their WebSub hub with Superfeedr, while subscribers are applications that consume the feed API to aggregate feeds from across the web. Trackers, a new type of user, was added to Superfeedr in April 2015. Trackers are applications that subscribe to search queries. Complex queries can be tracked by including or excluding search terms, exact or inexact match queries, and by using language filters. The tracking feature (a prospective search engine) is scaled to parse millions of feeds and their metadata to add extra filtering options.

Funding

In late 2009,

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to ''Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 list ...

and Betaworks invested in Superfeedr during a round of seed funding.

References

{{reflist Aggregation websites Application programming interfaces RSS