94 lines
5.2 KiB
HTML
94 lines
5.2 KiB
HTML
<p>For years I've had an RSS feed for my blog, but I truly haven't used
|
|
RSS myself for my own subscriptions until quite recently. But since
|
|
watching the Luke Smith video on the matter<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup>
|
|
I've decided to give it a try, and it has definitely been worth it.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>For those who are not aware, RSS is a standardized and universal way
|
|
of managing subscriptions that has been around since 1999 (although the
|
|
concept is older). The idea is that every site or subscription would
|
|
have an XML file that could be pulled by an RSS client, which would
|
|
contain all (recent) posts. The client would then show this data to the
|
|
user, pointing out the new/unread posts. In other words, basic
|
|
subscription stuff.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>But what makes RSS (or Atom feeds for that matter) so great in this
|
|
regard is what it does for the user - even the least technical user.
|
|
Basically, it's the e-mail of subscriptions: a universal protocol which
|
|
you can use on any server with any client.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>Firstly, there's the freedom on the side of the user to choose which
|
|
client to use. I personally use newsboat because it's the first
|
|
relatively simple curses client I came across, but there are tons more,
|
|
including graphical clients. This is great, since it means that we can
|
|
interface with our subscriptions however we please. I can use a
|
|
curses/terminal environment to manage my subscriptions, and someone else
|
|
can use a graphical environment. Nobody is forced to use something they
|
|
don't want to.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>But perhaps more importantly, RSS permits the decentralization of the
|
|
web. For some reason, we've been relying on built-in subscription
|
|
features for platforms like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. - I don't
|
|
know what y'all kids are using nowadays - but this just creates a
|
|
dependency on the platform for both the user and the content creators,
|
|
ending up in a feedback loop. Users, who do not want to have accounts on
|
|
several websites for subscriptions, choose a select few platforms to
|
|
create accounts on, which have the most content or their favorite
|
|
content. Because of this, creators are forced to use those platforms if
|
|
they want to get any kind of visibility. As such, it feeds into there
|
|
being a few platforms that have the vast majority of creators and the
|
|
cycle continues. As such, these platforms naturally get to decide what
|
|
content gets to be on their platform and which content we are suggested
|
|
or get to see. It is a way of enslaving both user and creator to their
|
|
platform by creating a dependency on them. Basically, user lock-in -
|
|
what I criticize companies like Apple for.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>With RSS, this is no longer an issue. You can actually subscribe to
|
|
everything in a single place: your RSS client. What's more, you don't
|
|
even have to go looking through the five social media sites you already
|
|
have accounts on, you just open up the one application and you have
|
|
access to all your subscriptions from any platform. This also means that
|
|
for those creators who want independence, they can create their own
|
|
website, add an RSS feed, and they'd be just as easily accessible as a
|
|
person on any other platform.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>And perhaps more importantly, unlike other technologies I propose
|
|
which would require you to create (yet another) account and/or give up
|
|
some of the content you already enjoy, this doesn't require any such
|
|
thing. I myself, using RSS feeds, have subscriptions to YouTube
|
|
channels, podcasts, blogs, etc. and I'm fairly certain that both
|
|
Facebook and Twitter feeds have RSS/Atom feeds. The only thing you'd
|
|
have to do is install a RSS/Atom client and add your subscriptions to
|
|
it. And if you're a content creator with your own site, most (if not
|
|
all) web frameworks (like Wordpress) come with a way of adding an RSS
|
|
feed to your site.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>The world is a much better place when we're not dependent on certain
|
|
platforms or companies. Real competition and development comes when
|
|
clients are able to move freely and at no cost from one provider to
|
|
another. And in this case, that freedom must be enjoyed by both users
|
|
and creators with regards to the platforms they use. This cannot be
|
|
achieved if using a different platform aside from the few major ones
|
|
will automatically make you irrelevant and invisible to the public eye.
|
|
We also need a world where people can have the ability to own their
|
|
creations, instead of being subjected to malicious terms of use which
|
|
tell creators what they can and cannot create, what can and cannot be
|
|
monetized, and overall taking ownership of someone's creation.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>If you do end up using RSS, I strongly suggest also looking for
|
|
content you may enjoy on other platforms to encourage a movement away
|
|
from centralized media platforms. Look for independent sites, blogs, or
|
|
alternative platforms (e.g. Peertube as an alternative to YouTube). Talk
|
|
about these sites with your friends and family to promote them, and
|
|
hopefully we can move further away from the centralized and heavily
|
|
controlled platforms.</p>
|
|
|
|
<p>
|
|
<label id="r1" >[1]</label>
|
|
<a
|
|
href="https://videos.lukesmith.xyz/videos/watch/551a1bfb-8a05-4cdb-b5d3-a42758991d83"
|
|
target="_blank" >
|
|
https://videos.lukesmith.xyz/videos/watch/551a1bfb-8a05-4cdb-b5d3-a42758991d83
|
|
</a>
|
|
</p>
|
|
|