Why RSS is important in the Post-AI moment

Hand-drawn picture of word RSS in cartoon bubble letters

Major Bummer Alert: Every social media feed I’ve looked at in the past month has either been partially or fully overwhelmed by AI-generated content.

It’s a shame, and just another step on the long road towards enshitification for these social media giants. For a moment, let’s try to remember using peak Reddit or peak Facebook; these used to be good platforms! They were promising, exciting, lively places where perspectives and opinions were posted freely and openly! Good content, as far as the eye could see! What happened?

Well, as Cal Newport mentioned in a recent podcast (maybe this one?): We used to post; now we just scroll. It’s as simple as that, really. We used to engage, but now we’re just targets for advertisers. At least, that’s what the platforms are pushing towards. Less user choice.

I want to shine a light on an alternative.

Okay Fine, Sell me on RSS #

Pretend you had a simple list of every person / website you wanted updates from. No adds, no recommendations, no filler crap to hold your attention. Just a simple list of all the corners of the internet that you care about.

Your list:

  • Automatically pulls the latest content.
  • Puts it into a simple, chronological list (no shitty algorithm).
  • Maintains a consistent, non-addictive visual style across all content.
  • Has zero like or subscribe or comment features.
  • Isn’t limited to one platform (like how your subscriptions are stuck inside your YouTube account).

Your list also:

  • Supports content creators directly because they don’t have to fight search algorithms to get their content to their fans.
  • Follows a widely accessible standard that’s been around for since 1999.
  • Is fully owned by you.
  • Combines text, image, and video content from multiple sources into one convenient place.

Maybe you’ve already guessed it, but that “list” is basically RSS.

But it’s too hard to use RSS! #

Shut up! No it isn’t! You only have to do 3 things to use RSS on your phone!

  1. Download an RSS Feed Reader (like the one I use)
  2. Add as many RSS feeds as you want from as many platforms as you want
  3. Open the feed reader and use it like you would Facebook or Reddit

But how do you add an RSS feed? That is just as easy! Start by googling (or duckduckgoing?) the property you like plus the words “RSS Feed” until you find a link with “.xml” at the end. Here are some examples:

When you click on that link, you’ll see a bunch of funky XML code, and that’s how you know you’ve got the right link!

Once you have a link like that, just find the little “add feed” button in whatever reader you use, paste the link and click add. That’s it!

But I Like AI-Generated, Corporate-Sanitized Content Swarming with Ads! #

Then keep using Facebook like a guinea pig. Sorry to bother you.

For everyone else reading this, download a feed reader today and start using it. If you feel the pain of the algorithms manipulating your emotions and drowning out your joy, start using a feed reader. If you are tired of giving control of your attention to corporate overlords who play king-maker with our culture, start using a feed reader.

Honestly, if you have a pulse and a smart phone, you should be using a feed reader. There is still good content on the web, but you need to know how to find it. In fact, RSS may become the most important survival mechanism for the small web as large platforms continue to suppress speech and crowd-out smaller content producers. That creates a trend that worsens web culture as a whole.

Be part of the solution; use an RSS Feed Reader!