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Will RSS Ever Go Mainstream?

By Tac Anderson ⋅ May 4, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment
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hwy12 demoing an rss reader to the gang" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3083/3258758836_2c9aebe1bd_m.jpg" alt="@hwy12 demoing an rss reader to the gang" width="192" height="144" />
Image by Tac Anderson via Flickr

Will RSS Ever Go Mainstream?

One of my proudest moments at Highway 12 Ventures was when Mark Solon was demonstrating how he subscribed to RSS feeds in his feed reader to his partners.

But even as new people adopt RSS I keep hearing rumblings that some people are abandoning their feeds. Mashable even posed a poll to ask their readers if the were still using feed readers. It’s no surprise that their readers still overwhelming do.

Do You Use an RSS Reader?

Is RSS the best way to read news and blogs?

With the rise of social media technologies that provide alternatives to RSS, we have to wonder: what is the future of RSS? Is social media a better alternative?

I know many of you have expressed that thanks to Twitter and other social networks pushing content to you that you read far fewer, or at least don’t pay as much attention to, your RSS feeds. For me I know that initially this was the case for me, but now I find myself reading even more than before. In fact I find myself searching for, not just more, but more original content.

I think social networks and status style sharing accentuates the head but tends to bury the long tail. For some people RSS may not be important but I think for early adopters, trend watchers and anyone who wants to be at the front of their industry still has to actively subscribe to feeds.

Another case for RSS is this article by LifeHacker on 2 different ways to manage all your social networks. The problem is that the RSS solution would never be adopted by the mainstream worker. It’s just too much work for the average person. Messing with settings, filters and 3rd party applications is akin to low level programming. It will always be relegated to the hypo-g33k.

What about you. Do you find yourself using RSS more or less?

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About Tac

Social media anthropologist. Communications strategist. Business model junkie. Chief blogger here at New Comm Biz.

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  • http://twitter.com/cflinnds Cheryl

    Amused that you invite me to ‘subscribe to (your) RSS feed’ in article discounting RSS {for Joe Averageperson}.

    It’s pretty broad: RSS is a method not an app … I see more movement in notifications from email -> RSS.

    And RSS couldn’t be easier: 50 zillion reader options (check any feedburner page).

    That being said, I do have >5k unread in my NetNewsWire and put my more frequent reads in Apple Mail because I know I won’t always take the time to scan that huge block.

  • http://twitter.com/cflinnds Cheryl

    Amused that you invite me to ‘subscribe to (your) RSS feed’ in article discounting RSS {for Joe Averageperson}.

    It’s pretty broad: RSS is a method not an app … I see more movement in notifications from email -> RSS.

    And RSS couldn’t be easier: 50 zillion reader options (check any feedburner page).

    That being said, I do have >5k unread in my NetNewsWire and put my more frequent reads in Apple Mail because I know I won’t always take the time to scan that huge block.

  • Shawn McCollum

    RSS as a format probably will never go mainstream, and over time will get relegated more and more to the backend. RSS the concept has evolved and is already mainstream just in different forms with emphasis on the last S (syndication). My grandma is on facebook so the concept of RSS in it’s facebook form is very mainstream.

  • http:/tubejumper.com Shawn McCollum

    RSS as a format probably will never go mainstream, and over time will get relegated more and more to the backend. RSS the concept has evolved and is already mainstream just in different forms with emphasis on the last S (syndication). My grandma is on facebook so the concept of RSS in it’s facebook form is very mainstream.

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com Tac

    @Cheryl, somehow I doubt that this blog would appeal much to non-early adopters :)

    @Shawn, I agree that the general “raw” use of RSS will have some mainstream acceptance but will probably never fully take off.I do however think that further application development that makes it one step (or no step) simple.

    I also agree that the use of RSS as a syndication tool is only going to continue to explode.

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com Tac

    @Cheryl, somehow I doubt that this blog would appeal much to non-early adopters :)

    @Shawn, I agree that the general “raw” use of RSS will have some mainstream acceptance but will probably never fully take off.I do however think that further application development that makes it one step (or no step) simple.

    I also agree that the use of RSS as a syndication tool is only going to continue to explode.

  • http://www.leanway.no Niklas B

    Interesting i tweeted this a while back: @smalltalk80: Twitter is RSS with brains

  • http://www.leanway.no Niklas B

    Interesting i tweeted this a while back: @smalltalk80: Twitter is RSS with brains

  • erich13

    I want to use RSS more, but find it difficult to manage.

  • http://www.quirk.biz Rob

    I’m definitely still an RSS fanboy. Twitter is great for uncovering the things you wouldn’t normally subscribe to, but in my mind nothing beats the efficiency of RSS for getting knowledge into my brain.

    Also Tac I’ve been meaning to comment and tell you that I’m really enjoying your renewed blogging vigor – you have a very unique and interesting perspective on things which I for one appreciate. Please keep it up!

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com tacanderson

    Eric, for some reason I find that hard to believe. I think some people struggle with “keeping up” with their RSS feeds. We need to remember that it's not email. It's more like the newspaper. If we don't read it all, no big deal.

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com tacanderson

    Rob, thank you. Your words of encouragement mean a lot to me.

  • erich13

    Yes, that's true, it's not like email, rather it's like the newspaper. Moreover, thanks for reminding me that it's like the newspaper. I sometimes forget about that analogy. Funny thing is, I find myself telling people about this (“you don't have to read it all”) when explaining what to do with all of the tweets that those you follow write, but forget about it sometimes when I read my RSS feeds. Thanks.

  • http://lmaublog.blogspot.com/ lmau

    I'm a intensive RSS user.
    I found this interisting post … via my rss feeds (throw http://www.newcommbiz.com).

    Of course, to use RSS, people need to spend some (too much ?) time to set it up, but it's for me the best tool to follow what happen in my field.
    I even use it to follow social network acticity (linkedin, twitter).

  • http://www.newcommbiz.com/top-10-blog-posts-may-2009-friendfeed-steals-the-show/ New Comm Biz » Top 10 Blog Posts [May 2009] FriendFeed Steals the Show

    [...] Will RSS Ever Go Mainstream? 5.6 - 5/04/09 [...]

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