How Twitter replaced my RSS reader
I used to subscribe to blogs via RSS through Bloglines, then Google Reader. Now, I don’t subscribe to them at all. Strangely, RSS readers have become an obsolete, thing of the past for me and I didn’t even realize it until recently.
So, how has Twitter replaced my reader?
- I subscribe to people, not sites
Subscribing to a site via RSS means that you subscribe to all of the content on that feed. With Twitter, you subscribe to people. The users you follow will (hopefully) weed out articles that are not interesting, so you don’t need to. If they don’t or if they have too much noise, then you can simply unsubscribe. Many RSS readers added “following” other users later, but by then it was too late.
Also, with only 140 characters, people get to the point about where the link goes. That makes it easy to ignore links that don’t sound interesting.
- I get direct recommendations
People I follow tweet a link to an article. This is the simplest and easiest way to read interesting articles since I’m already following people I find interesting.
- I also get indirect recommendations
People I follow retweet (RT) a post, from someone I don’t follow, that contains a link to an article. It seems like the volume of RTs has increased over the last 6 months; people are sharing more. This could be due to the ease with which the Twitter interface and mobile app allow RTs. This also gives me a chance to discover new, interesting people that I might want to follow.
- I can randomly discover articles
I have several saved searches and lists that I check periodically. A majority of people I see on there are not people I follow. When I check these, I often discover content that I would have missed otherwise.
Combine that with straight up search and managing multiple accounts and I find random stuff all the time.
- I can bookmark an article
I don’t always have time to read a link right away, so I use the favorite feature as a way to bookmark a tweet until I have time to come back and read it. If you look at my favorites, they are overwhelmingly tweets containing a link.
- I can share easily
If I write something or find something that’s interesting, I’m likely to tweet/RT it. Twitter made it easy for sites to embed a share button, too. People can easily (un)follow me if it’s (un)interesting.
When I look at the current feature set of my RSS reader, it does the same things I described above, but checking it has constantly felt like a chore. I’ve already worked Twitter into my daily routine for communication, so there isn’t another site I need to log into to find articles. Additionally, I also don’t need to manage 2 sets of people I’m following.
Truthfully, I can’t think of a reason to keep using an RSS reader. Can you?
Update: Found these links from Business Insider: Twitter Has Killed RSS Readers and PaidContent.org: The Death Of The RSS Reader.
More of my rantings
- Life as an Entrepreneur
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Resources for Dummies
- The case against nofollow
These might also interest you
- I love my job (Brainfuel)
- I wouldn’t read my blog. (Brian Shaler)
- Twitter Has Changed my Life (Stealthmode)
Um, yeah, I can think of a reason for RSS. Otherwise I wouldn't be reading this.
October 31st, 2010 at 7:57 pmHaha, fair enough
Do a majority of articles you read arrive via RSS or are they from other sources? Have you noticed a shift at all?
October 31st, 2010 at 8:39 pmAren't most feeds published to twitter via RSS? What about the plethora of writers that aren't on twitter?
Or perhaps you're happy with only reading popular articles, but I'd rather trust an author who's repeatedly wowed me than a bunch of people whose only talent in life may be to write in 140 character outbursts.
October 31st, 2010 at 9:53 pmAs far as I know, most blog-to-Twitter integration is done via the Twitter API, not through RSS. However, there's a difference between RSS as a format (how it's published) and an RSS reader (how it's consumed). The latter is what this article is referring to.
I read what I find interesting, regardless of popularity, and I trust the network I've established on Twitter to help vet those articles. There are several authors that I previously subscribed to in a reader, or just dropped in and read, that I now follow on Twitter (e.g., Umair Haque, Paul Graham). Except, now I get to see their daily thoughts and articles they read, as well as the articles they write.
October 31st, 2010 at 11:41 pmStill means you're only following writers who tweet or articles that are popular amongst people you know. Feels limited.
November 1st, 2010 at 8:03 amNot really, that's why I mention lists, saved searches and RTs. Each of those are ways of discovering, or being directed to, content from people you may not follow.
I also try to keep a balance between following locals and non-locals. Following too many local people begins to feel like an echo chamber. I consciously sought people in industries and positions, outside of Phoenix, from which I could learn.
November 1st, 2010 at 10:55 amSimply my reason is that I’ll miss things.
There are thought leaders and friends that I want to read and I won’t always see their latest posts via a tweet. In addition the social nature of Google Reader means I have a 100% content recommendation system that is my shorthand to what is important and relevant to me.
The points you make above are excellent and in my mind they form the perfect argument to why Twitter compliments RSS reading perfectly.
RSS reading can feel like a chore but I had my “Eureka” moment when I realized that I didn’t need to subscribe to 2000+ blogs to keep up because through my online communities I’ll probably see it if it’s important. I wrote about this change in my approach in my own “RSS is dead, Long live RSS” post.
I enjoyed your article and I think between our 2 posts people will be able to find the system that works for them and their goals.
November 1st, 2010 at 12:34 pmThanks Keith!
I'd gone through several iterations of building up subscriptions, abandoning, coming back to my reader, purging my subscriptions and then doing it all over again. The 'Mark all as read' button was both my friend and my arch-nemesis. Now I don't worry about it so much.
I wouldn't consider myself a heavy reader or blogger, but I can see a blended approach of social media and RSS for those that are.
Thanks for pointing out your article, too.
November 1st, 2010 at 1:52 pmI read RSS every day via my iPad. Google Reader + Reeder + iPad makes RSS very relevant and consumeable on the iPhone and iPad. Best $3 I've spent in a while.
December 1st, 2010 at 9:34 am