Why Every Website & Newsletter Publication Should Offer an RSS Feed: A Call for Cleaner, Convenient News Reading

Originally published at briangreenberg.net.

I’ve been cleaning out my email inbox for weeks now—really years. What I’ve found is that so many messages are from the plethora of newsletters that I’ve signed up to over the many years I’ve had email. These days, it’s hard enough to stay updated with the latest news and content…it’s overwhelming. My email is flooded with newsletters, promotional materials, and updates, making it exhausting, if not impossible, to sift through the clutter to find what truly matters. Amid this information overload, one solution stands out for its simplicity and efficiency: RSS feeds. Surprisingly, many sites and pubs (publications) have moved away from offering RSS feed options, leaving us loyal readers yearning for a more streamlined way to consume content.?

A Brief History of RSS Feeds

RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, is a web feed format used to distribute and aggregate website content simply. Introduced in the late 1990s, RSS was developed to share updates from news sites and blogs in a standardized, machine-readable format.

RSS feeds gained huge popularity during the early to mid-2000s. They empowered users to control their content consumption, aggregating updates from multiple sources into one convenient location in their favorite news reader. However, with the rise of social media platforms and algorithm-driven news feeds, RSS began to wane, leading many websites to deprioritize or remove their RSS offerings.

The Benefits of RSS Feeds

For Consumers/Users:

1. Inbox Decluttering: Subscribing to content via email leads to a cluttered and schizophrenic inbox, where essential messages compete with newsletters and updates. RSS feeds eliminate this by delivering content to a separate feed reader and keeping your email strictly for personal and professional communication.
2. Customized Content Consumption: RSS allows you to subscribe only to the feeds that interest you, creating a personalized news stream without unwanted content or advertisements.
3. Efficiency and Convenience: With RSS, all updates are aggregated in one place, reducing the time and effort required to visit multiple sites. This centralized approach makes staying informed about the latest posts from preferred sources easier.
4. Offline Access: Many RSS readers offer offline capabilities, enabling you to read content without an active internet connection once the feed has been synced.

For Publishers:

1. Increased Engagement: By providing an RSS feed, publishers make it easier for readers to stay connected, fostering loyalty and encouraging regular engagement with their content.
2. Extended Reach: RSS feeds can be integrated into various platforms and applications, exposing content to a broader audience who prefer using feed readers.
3. Better Analytics: Understanding how and when content is consumed through RSS can offer insights into reader behavior, aiding in refining content strategies.
4. User Satisfaction: Catering to the preferences of all users, including those who favor RSS, enhances overall user experience and satisfaction.

Clearing Out the Inbox: The RSS Solution

Email newsletters can be a double-edged sword. While they keep us informed, they also contribute to massive inbox clutter, making it challenging to manage daily messages effectively. Important emails get lost amidst the flood of subscription content, leading to missed messages and added stress.

RSS feeds fix this by segregating newsletters and such from the important emails you’ve been missing. By using a dedicated RSS reader to manage your subscriptions, you ensure your inbox focuses only on important messages. This separation enhances productivity and reduces the cognitive context switching and mental load of sorting through an overflowing inbox.

Why Websites Should Reintroduce RSS Feeds

1. Meeting User Demand: A dedicated user base that relies on RSS feeds for content consumption remains. Ignoring this demographic means losing out on consistent engagement from a segment of the audience.
2. Competitive Advantage: In a digital space where user attention is fragmented, offering multiple avenues for content delivery can set a website apart from competitors who limit their distribution channels.
3. Ease of Implementation: Adding an RSS feed is straightforward and requires minimal maintenance. Most content management systems support RSS functionality natively or through simple plugins.
4. Enhancing Accessibility: RSS feeds make content more accessible to users with different needs and preferences, including those who use assistive technologies.

Conclusion

You no longer have to be dominated by algorithm-driven content and massively overflowing email inboxes. RSS feeds can free your inbox and put control back into your hands. For publishers, providing RSS feed options, websites, and publications can cater to a broader audience that values simplicity, efficiency, and personalization in their content reading.

RSS feeds simplify and declutter inboxes and curate news intake. For publishers, embracing RSS can increase engagement, broaden reach, and enhance user satisfaction. It's time for websites and publications to finally recognize the enduring value of RSS feeds and reintegrate them into their content distribution strategies.

This is why I’m unsubscribing from all my email newsletters and transferring them to RSS subscriptions. My inbox is getting so much lighter. Yours will, too.?

Try the RSS news readers I enjoy: NetNewsWire & Feedly?

Empower your audience. Simplify your content delivery. Bring back the RSS feed. ???

?? Listen to a podcast created by NotebookLM of this article...