Feeds combined with a feed reader are still an incredibly useful tool for me today. I do not have to keep searching the internet for updates in the areas I care about, because the information comes directly to me. That is a major advantage, especially for personal knowledge management: I decide which sources are relevant and do not have to rely on the algorithms of social networks or search engines.
Feeds? Back in the day, the small orange icons were instantly visible on many websites. Today, you often have to look a little more closely. That does not change the fact that RSS and Atom feeds are still among the most underrated technologies on the web.
A digital newspaper subscription
Subscribing to a feed is basically like having a digital newspaper subscription. As soon as a website publishes a new post, it appears automatically in the feed reader. The advantage is obvious: there is no need to keep visiting favourite sites manually just to check whether anything new has been published. Content arrives in one central place, where it can be read, sorted, saved, or processed further later on.
This is especially helpful for knowledge work. Instead of drifting from platform to platform, it becomes possible to build a personal information source that is cleanly organised by topic.
”Feeds are dead”
I have been hearing that sentence for years. And it is still not true.
Feeds are not dead, they have simply become less visible. Many websites no longer link to their feeds prominently. Browsers also no longer show them as openly as they once did. At the same time, the need for curated, reliable, and algorithm free information sources has arguably become even greater.
For me as a frontend developer, but also more generally for anyone who wants to build knowledge in a focused way, feeds remain ideal. Trends, tools, standards, and best practices change constantly. With a carefully chosen set of subscriptions, it is possible to stay up to date without handing over all attention to social networks.
Feeds are not only useful for individuals, either. Companies can also use them for monitoring, for example to keep track of trade media, competitors, industry topics, or mentions of their own brand.
Why feeds work so well for knowledge management
A feed reader is more than just a reading tool. Used properly, it becomes a personal entry point for knowledge.
Instead of discovering information by chance, it is gathered systematically. The sources are chosen deliberately. They are structured by topic. And it remains possible to decide what is worth reading and what is not.
That brings several advantages:
- less distraction
- no dependency on platform algorithms
- clearer separation by topic
- better findability of relevant articles
- a more conscious approach to information overload
Anyone who works with note taking tools, read it later services, or a personal knowledge system can use feeds perfectly as the first input channel.
How feeds are read today
The basic idea has stayed the same, but the tools have changed a little. Browsers themselves now play a smaller role. Instead, most people rely on dedicated readers.
Feedly
Feedly is still one of the best known and easiest ways into the world of feeds. The service works in the browser as well as on mobile devices and is a good choice when sources should be collected in one place.
One practical feature is that Feedly, together with the Feedly Mini extension, can detect available feeds on a visited page. That makes it possible to add sources directly without spending time searching through the source code or the site navigation.
For many people, Feedly is the uncomplicated starting point, especially when the goal is simply to read and organise.
Inoreader
Anyone who wants more control, rules, filters, and automation should take a look at Inoreader. The service is particularly interesting for power users who follow a lot of sources, organise content by topic, or want to set up notifications for specific keywords.
That is especially useful for monitoring and knowledge management in a professional context, because information can be processed intentionally instead of simply consumed.
Reeder
Anyone in the Apple ecosystem who values a particularly pleasant reading interface is still well served by Reeder. Reeder is an app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac and is especially suitable when the focus should be on reading itself.
For me, Reeder is interesting whenever I want to read content more deliberately instead of only skimming it quickly.
Thunderbird and Outlook
In a business environment, using an external reader is not always possible. In that case, email programs are often the most practical solution.
Thunderbird has supported feeds for a long time and works well when email and feeds should be managed in one place.
Classic Outlook on Windows also continues to support RSS. One important point, however, is that the new Outlook does not currently support RSS as far as I know. So in a business context, it is worth checking which Outlook version is actually in use.
Finding feeds is more tedious today
The biggest difference compared with the past is not the format itself, but its visibility. Many websites still offer feeds, but no longer link to them in an obvious way. That means it is sometimes necessary to look for them more actively.
Browser extensions or readers that can automatically detect feeds on a page are especially helpful here. Sometimes it is also worth checking typical feed URLs or looking into the page source.
That may sound more complicated than it really is. Once the most important sources have been subscribed to, the rest largely runs on its own.
How I use feeds in everyday life
A few simple principles have proven useful for my personal knowledge management:
- organise sources by topic, for example frontend, design, photography, or industry news
- scan new posts roughly at first and only read the relevant ones in depth
- move especially useful content into a note system or reading list
- subscribe to a small number of good sources rather than hundreds of mediocre ones
- maintain the reader regularly and remove irrelevant feeds again
That last point is particularly important. A good feed reader is not an archive for everything, but a tool for relevant information.
Conclusion
Feeds are anything but dead. They may no longer be as visible as they once were, but for personal knowledge management they are still an excellent fit.
Anyone who wants to collect, structure, and consume information independently from platform algorithms will find RSS and Atom feeds to be a surprisingly modern tool. Not loud, not trendy, but extremely efficient.
Maybe that is exactly their greatest strength.