Previously, we thought that RSS/Atom had gone fully mainstream when podunk local broadcasters finally added them to their sites, circa 2008. However, in all the hoopla about the new White House site’s robots.txt, the woeful state of their computers, the explosive widespread media coverage on the revelation that the RSA spied on journalists in particular, and the validity of the feed, was the fact that it was there as just a normal part of the site. No long explanations everywhere, no gaudy icons, just incorporated into the site as it should be: another tool of the modern website.
We think that should end any discussion about whether users will “get it” or not for all future site development.