Introducing RSS
Ayup! I recently stumbled upon a brand new technology called RSS. When I say brand new, I mean almost 27 years old. And when I say recently stumbled upon, I mean I never really got the point.
This all changed in line with spending more time on Mastodon. It's one of the few places where it's frequently mentioned and talked about it. The folks here LOVE an RSS feed. They got me thinking; there must be something to this.
Generally speaking, the good people of the Fediverse have got their shit together when it comes to the internet. They favour calm, sane and logical ways of operating and consuming online.
No surprise, it turns out they were completely right about RSS. I've got to say, it's pretty darn exciting. I feel somewhat ignorant for not embracing it until now. This realisation is further magnified when you consider its mammoth potential with blogging.
If you’ve ever subscribed to a blog, listened to a podcast, or shared your thoughts online, chances are you’ve benefitted from Dave’s pioneering work. He’s the developer behind influential technologies like RSS, and a long-time advocate for open, user-owned, publishing platforms.
WP Tavern - Jukebox Podcast #186 – Dave Winer on Decentralisation, WordPress and Open Publishing
Subscribe Via RSS
This blog wasn't ever supposed to have an option to subscribe. My quiet corner of the internet was always intended to be a place for uninterrupted reflection. As soon as you add comments, likes and subscriptions into the mix, all of this changes.
With RSS, however, people simply receive each article in their feed reader of choice. There's no available data to show how many subscribers I have. This removes any pressure to build an audience. If you see the numbers stagnating or declining, this can be a little disheartening. Anyway, based on feedback, I know I've got at least two RSS subscribers so far. Hell Yeah! I'm about to hit the big time!
To make subscribing a little easier, I've now added an RSS link in the footer.
We’re back in the very same situation that led to the rise of RSS in the first place. The web is once again chaotic and confusing. We can’t “just google it” any more, unless we want to spend half an hour wading through badly written SEO spam to find what we want.
NetNewsWire
From a consumer perspective, I've set myself up on NetNewsWire. This is a free and open-source RSS reader for Mac, iPhone and iPad. It's a REALLY nice way to stay up-to-date with news, blogs and websites. Furthermore, it's 100% distraction free. I'm not seeing any of the ads or CTA's that you might otherwise see when reading on the website itself.
It’s like podcasts — but for reading. This line from their website certainly resonated.
NetNewsWire shows you articles from your favorite blogs and news sites and keeps track of what you’ve read. It’s fast, stable, and accessible.
If you’ve been going from site to site in your browser looking for new articles to read — or counting on the rage-bait algorithms of corporate social media — let NetNewsWire bring you the news you actually want.
It’s easy and fun. And it puts you, not billionaires, in control of your news.
Feeds & WordPress
Even if a website doesn't have a subscribe with RSS button, most feeds are pretty easy to find. Usually, you just add /feed onto the end of the domain. For example, domainname.com/feed
Copy and paste this into your reader of choice, job's a good'n! If it's not correct, the reader won't find anything. This article from Zapier has some useful info on the different variations across different platforms.
For any WordPress users or websites, the /feed option is all you need (I think this can sometimes vary depending on the theme). If you're a site owner and want to include an RSS icon, this is super easy. It can be found in the Social Icons block. Alternatively, there's a dedicated RSS block that displays entries from your feed.
A WordPress RSS feed is an XML-based file that allows users to access your site’s content automatically. The feed includes recent posts, custom post types, pages, and other content types, providing an easy way for users to keep up with updates without manually visiting the site. By using a WordPress RSS feed, you are effectively syndicating your content and enhancing distribution.
RSS relevance in 2026
Although this is pretty old tech now, it seems more relevant than ever in the current climate. This is primarily down to control over consumption.
We all know how intensely the mainstream news channels love to catastrophize everything. Yes, there are horrendous things going on in the world, but there are infinitely more nice things that we rarely get to hear about. It's up to us to find the right balance.
A well curated RSS feed delivers all of the good stuff. It's a refreshing change of pace, scenery and outlook. Furthermore, it's 100% tailored to your exact passions and interests in a distraction-free environment.
