RSS is still part of my personal knowledge system. It’s an old technique, with its origin in the 90’s, to subscribe to content like blogs and podcasts.
The readers view
The core idea of the technique is still relevant. It’s one of the methods to get out of the endless stream of information. With advantages like lightweight plain text (simplicity) and distraction free (no ads) to focus on the content curated by yourself. An easy method to unclutter your information stream without any influence of algoritms.
As a content consumer you can read the content you are interested in when you want to. Another advantage is that you don’t have to visit the original webpage or app. Because of that, with RSS there is no behavioural tracking and is therefore more privacy-friendly.
“The internet is a mess. Ignore the algorithm, and distill the web down to the things you actually care about.” — Wired
Also the founders of the new reading app, Reader (from Readwise), mention that RSS is in a ‘renaissance’. Feeds are a fundamental component of their app.
Publishers opinion
In the early years of RSS, Content Publishers made RSS feeds for specific subjects, called channels. Tailor made summaries and headlines on a specific topic.
Nowadays, Publishers want to keep the visitor in their ecosystem. To target, personalise and track behaviour. For advertising and customisation of the news feed. There is no place anymore for a function like RSS, where you jump out of the ecosystem.
Personal publishing apps like Medium and Substack still support this technique. With Substack RSS you can read publications and notes from the publishers you follow and with the Medium feed you can subscribe to authors, publications and specific topics.