Break The Chains And Be Your Own Person With RSS

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We like to think that information ("content") on the Web comes at us from every angle and at speeds that our poor brains just can't take, stooooppp, it's all too much.

Nope, most people get small amounts of Web information in very limited ways, Facebook, YouTube, maybe Twitter (ick) or something more wholesome but similar like Bluesky or Mastodon. You'll likely also get messages (through something) with a link to something wonderful and glorious, but I'd say that's mostly it for the vast unwashed.

You, are much better than those ignoramus though, and also visit the BBC, RNZ, Stuff, or some other old skool media website (or app, different but same). I applaud you, but what about all those other websites that you like the look of but forgot.

Google's Gemini create image: web page information flowing into an RSS reader

This conduit is anti-lock-in, it works for nearly the whole internet. It is surveillance-resistant, far more accessible than the web or any mobile app interface. It is my secret super-power.

It's RSS.
Yup, RSS readers are not just bloody useful they allow you to:
  • monitor a website and preview new stories the moment they're published,
  • follow without any cookies,
  • stay anonymous and private,
    • websites get no information about which of its stories you read.
    • websites don't even get to know that you're monitoring its feed.
  • read newsletters without ever registering and without risk of your email provider misclassifying an update as spam,
  • follow any Mastodon account (which means you can follow any Threads account), Bluesky, Tumblr or Medium, 
  • organise all your feeds into folders if you want,
    • You can even create automatic folders, based on keywords, or even things like "infrequently updated sites"
  • export all the feeds you follow with a single click, which will generate an OPML file. 
  • import all your OPML file into any other RSS reader in existence
  • read in a browser or in an app on your phone and they'll sync up
Don't worry about which RSS reader you start with, you can switch readers with two clicks and take all the feeds you've subscribed to with you! I use Feedly, it's got an easy subscription button you can add to your browser and when you are reading articles you can pop the feed straight into Feedly and always stay up to date your own way. 

And if you want a few RSS feeds to kick off with, check out my subscriptions with my public OPML file (see, it's that easy), just import it in and voila!

Thanks to Cory Doctrow for the fabulous article about RSS and the clear reasons why we should all use it.

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