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What is RSS?
A feed of content that users customize with updates from their favourite websites. They’d do this with a few lines of code provided by websites that could be added to something called an RSS reader. If you’re over 30, you might remember an orange-and-white logo on a lot of news websites and blogs — that’s where the code would be found. This helped outlets get stories in front of readers without them having to check a bunch of individual home pages.
Are RSS feeds still around?
Yes, but they did get less popular in the early 2010s as more people started using social media as their main news feed. Google also discontinued Reader, the most popular RSS app at the time, in 2013, and in-browser RSS feeds started disappearing after that.
Could they get popular again?
Social media is not the great way to stay informed that it once was, between changes at Twitter/X, disinformation, and platforms deprioritizing news. Plus, people are interested in getting their news aggregated in a way that doesn’t involve algorithms.
Uh, but why would I want to get news from a bunch of different sources?
It’s fine, we know that The Peak isn’t the only place you get your news. But RSS is also used to get updates on your favourite recipe website, new academic research, or cybersecurity threats. Podcast apps also use RSS to pull new episodes into your feed.
How do I start my own RSS feed?
You’ll need an RSS reader, either as an app or browser extension. Feedly is the most popular (and has a feature that lets you pull email newsletters into your feed, just saying) but there’s a few you could choose from.
And how do I add websites to my feed?
Newer websites (usually) don’t prioritze making RSS easy to find. But a lot of readers can find a site’s RSS info for you and add it to your feed. Otherwise, a quick Google search for a news outlet’s name plus “RSS feed” will get you what you need.