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2308011376 a14739488e How To Find Alternatives To The Lost Technology Known As RSS

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What Is RSS?

RSS is a technology called Real Simple Syndication.  The majority of tech enthusiasts know this concept, however I know many people who still don’t understand the real benefit of RSS or what it exactly does.  Ultimately, RSS allows you to pull news feeds from your favorite websites so that you can have updates available in one place.  This sounds like a very useful piece of technology doesn’t it?  Well, it has been around for quite some time, but the idea of RSS being useful may be long gone.  Not to say many people don’t use it, but there are alternatives to RSS that are more relevant to the way we consume content today.  I still believe RSS works, but I have felt its been broken to some extent.

What Are The Best Alternatives To RSS?

1. Email – I know this one may seem obvious, but its something I have used over the years to keep up with the content that I like the best.  Not to mention, its really easy to organize.  You can either create folders to send your blog updates to or import the RSS feed into your email client.  I feel this is better than using RSS because its less clutter.  I continue to feel that RSS readers have way too much going on with them making it hard to know which content you’ve already read as opposed to what’s new.

2.  Twitter – Following Twitter accounts that strictly post links to new posts are a great way to keep up on your favorite websites.  Twitter accounts also have an RSS feed you can subscribe to if the website you’re interested in churns out great content on a consistent basis.  I know I said that this post would be alternatives to RSS, but an RSS feed associated to a Twitter account is a lot “cleaner” than using an RSS aggregator.  I would think a brief description of the blog post with a link to the full article is a much better way to decide whether or not the article would be beneficial for you to “read more” on.

3.  Twitter Lists – This is something I’m not a fan of at all.  However, the benefit of Twitter lists is apparent.  In my opinion its a way of grouping your favorite information all together in one place.  So how does this relate as a replacement for RSS?  Just think of grouping all of your favorite Twitter accounts that share links to blog posts as discussed earlier in one central location – a Twitter list.  Its easy to create and its something many people use to keep up to date on interesting information.

The Direction Of RSS Aggregators

I think the biggest problem surrounding RSS aggregators is they are not user friendly.  When Twitter came along, a lot of people switched away from using RSS.  They found a solution that met their needs in an easier way.  With the most popular news aggregator being Google Reader, I must say it can use a complete overhaul.  However, trying to find a way to customize it to my liking has been extremely confusing to figure out to the point where I’ve given up trying to use it.  It may be the most popular RSS reader, but usability has always been a selling point for me when it comes to using a service.  There are many people that still use RSS as I have mentioned, but its definitely a fading technology.  It was very popular in the early stages of its creation and I’d say Twitter has taken control of the market.

Where Do You Stand On RSS?

Are you still using RSS or do you have a better alternative than the three options I list above?  If so, share you stance or your tips in the comments below.  I know there a solid amount of people who will disagree with my opinion on the topic and I’d like to here it so we can discuss it.  Maybe you don’t use RSS or another alternative.  Its definitely possible that you just like to visit the website and check for new updates manually.  Whichever method you prefer, what do you feel works best?


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Posted in Technology | Comments (6)

  • http://www.shaneryans.com Shane Ryans

    I tend to use email and then set tasks so they go into the correct folder. RSS scripts are pretty archaic these days.

  • http://www.socialtechzone.com Frank

    I think the method you are using Shane is the most productive method. Email is simply an easy way to organize important information. When it comes to sorting new posts from blogs, creating folders for those posts to go into via your email client seems efficient to me. RSS is becoming a thing of the past…you’re absolutely right.

  • http://www.rojish.com Rojish

    I think we must focus on both RSS and emails. Most of the non tech-savvy people don’t know about Rss. So emails may be good option for them. But for those people who follow many blogs rss is a good option. Personally I use to follow about 40 blogs. If I use email subscription to follow those blogs then my inbox will look very messy.

  • http://www.socialtechzone.com Frank

    Rojish,

    I definitely feel email is very valuable. I think it works best for email marketing and using a service like Aweber. Me personally, that’s when I really like using email. Email as an alternative to RSS is an option I only use for blogs that I consider my favorite on the Internet. For other blogs that I follow, I’ll just visit there site. I think RSS for me just seems too messy and cluttered, however, I would like to give it a second chance if a well made RSS related product comes about.

  • http://dedicatedemailserverhosting.com/ jeff

    Knowing what to use as an alternative to RSS is useful for a blogger. Rojish, has is right I would not want to follow blogs by email, I follow too many of them. I personally would use twitter as alternative to RSS.

  • http://www.socialtechzone.com/ Frank

    I’ve cut down a significant amount of blogs I follow by email. Its actually only a couple at this point. I do like using Twitter personally and just visiting their blog in general.