RSS — for when you can’t miss news
Two bloggers comment on RSS feeds:
RSS is no longer a key content distribution channel.
He’s right in that RSS never became a mainstream means of consumption (indeed, I’d argue that it never really was a key content distribution channel), but wrong in that, for those of us who live or die by the information we find, consume and process in various ways, it’s still a vital tool.
When Google closed Google Reader there was discussion that said RSS was dead and no longer needed now that people get their feeds from social media. As Tinworth points out, there are still 15 million die-hard feed-reading users out there.
I’m one.
Social media has its uses, but with services like Twitter or Facebook, stories go whooshing by in among all those cat pictures and other distractions. Not only that, but a third party gets to choose what you see.
If you want to check this morning’s technology news from New Zealand publishers, RSS is the only easy way to capture everything in one single spot. The alternative is to spend hours ploughing through multiple sites.
Long may the practice of creating feeds live. It’s essential for anyone who needs a comprehensive list of relevant information.