I commented recently about how I don’t get Google Base. I read a post by Russel Beattie wherein he describes his epiphany about how this will all work.

He quotes Bill Burnham:

One need look no further then the detailed XML Schema and extensive RSS 2.0 specification to realize that Google intends to build the world’s largest RSS “reader” which in turn will become the world’s largest XML database.

No, I’m still not feeling it. The most significant thing that I can imagine is the online content world converging on some generally accepted schema elements modeled after Google Base’s most popular attributes. Things like price, description, etc.

But, let’s say you can feed Google Base with an RSS feed. What does that change? Why would you put content in Google Base in the first place? Who derives value from it? Are more structured searches based on somewhat-typed attributes really so worthwhile as to be fawning over them?

I’m sure there’s a brilliant insight somewhere in Google Base, that I’m just not imaginative enough to see. But, I don’t think Russel Beattie or Bill Burnham have seen it yet either.