RSS - What is it and why use it?

RSS might be the discovery of the new year. Its the thing, I didn’t know I was missing.

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, allows me to follow any website without opening a platform.

Someone has a blog and talks about interesting things? I copy their URL into my RSS reader and whenever they post something, i get their content and link to it directly on my computer. Maybe I am late to the show, but I am pretty baffled.

I do not have to open linkedin/mastodon/facebook whatever, to see if an amazing scholar/activist/person shared some new thoughts?

RSS seemingly was a standard way to stay informed and was discontinued by big-tech to have more control over people’s attention (Article from Twobithistory.org )

Lets get into it!

RSS how does it work?

Most websites produce a xml file that changes when content is being uploaded or updated.

With an RSS reader, you basically follow this file and receive the updates.

It is that simple.

How can I get it?

1. Install any type of RSS reader (Here is a list of privacy focused ones)
2. Find your favourite blogs, podcasts, personal websites, etc.
3. Understand how the website produces RSS:
   1. Most websites you can add an rss or feed to the URL: https://profjuliasteinberger.wordpress.com/rss Or for the Guardian its is explained here. For subreddits you add .rss
   2. Others, like mine here, just have a RSS button somewhere, that brings you to the right URL: https://jakobnitschke.codeberg.page/blog/index.xml
   3. Again others follow a different set up, that you can quickly search online. For example, to follow Julia Steinberger on Medium:https://medium.com/feed/@jksteinberger Most larger publishers have a system in place to set up the RSS feed. Here is the medium explanation
4. You paste this link into the RSS aggregator of your choice.
5. Now you get updated whenever there is new content.

Notes

I personally, use an RSS aggregator integrated with Obsidian that does a fabulous job if you are already using Obsidian as well.

It will take some time to follow all the websites that may be relevant for you. And it does not have to be an immediate switch from other ways of staying up to date.

You can build your own feed over time.

I have only started collecting my own list for a few weeks, but I already see the benefits of being informed about what other people are writing, without being constraint what the algorithms decide would be relevant for me.

A small recommendation: Do not follow too general inputs such as the main page of a newspaper, otherwise you drown in content. It is really perfect for blogs, podcasts, and relevant websites, that have medium to long publication paces. Or be very selective with the content a newspaper publishes. For example on nd-aktuell (german newspaper), you can follow specific sections, or by keyword.

I hope that soon I can share my own rss feed that collects blogs, websites, and other things that I am curious to stay in touch with.

Links

If you more of an audiovisual person, here is a Youtube video explaining the concept) (I tried peertube but couldn’t find something similar. The video here seems to be sponsored by feedly but please ignore that. There are many free and open source options available)

Disclaimer: All links and examples are chosen freely, and without any commercial interest from the author