RSS is still the best way to track the news on the web, and these RSS readers can keep you right up to date.

Whatever the linguistic details, one of the main roles of RSS is to supply directly to you a steady stream of updates from a website. Every new article published on that site is served up in a list that can be interpreted by an RSS reader.

Unfortunately, RSS is no longer how most of us consume “content.” (Google famously killed its beloved Google Reader more than a decade ago.) It’s now the norm to check social media or the front pages of many different sites to see what’s new. But I think RSS still has a place in your life: Especially for those who don’t want to miss anything or have algorithms choosing what they read, it remains one of the best ways to navigate the internet. Here’s a primer on what RSS can (still!) do for you, and how to get started with it, even in this late era of online existence.

  • Ann Archy@lemmy.worldEnglish
    14·
    10 months ago

    I’ve tried so many times. I went ahead and checked out feedly right now just to have them change my mind, and they failed miserably. You run into paywall issues right away, they don’t list pretty major newspapers I would assume to have rss, and adding something like business insider or the independent gives you so much dung mixed with the things you are actually interested in.

    Let’s say I’m into business, but don’t want car related news? What if I’m into investing yet don’t want to hear about Trump?

    If there was something like “more like this”/“less like this” function, then maybe, but just at a glance, one of many, I don’t see how it could present me with the info I want in the structure I want.

    Global events and news
    Economical trends on both macro and micro level for specific domains
    Exclude entertainment, sports, fashion, drama
    Update every hour
    Total headlines max 30 per day
    Max visible 7 at a time.

    I’ve tried, and it’s not worth the hassle even trying to set that up. For me, at least.

    Adding any RSS feed is like getting an information enema with raisins sprinkled in.

    • omnomed@lemmy.worldEnglish
      10·
      10 months ago

      What shit app were you trying to use, get feeder and add the proper topic specific rss if you want to categorize like “business”. I never even get the time to read through all the news because there are literally hundreds of articles being added to the feed daily.

      And AntennaPod for your podcast needs.

    • cum@lemmy.cafeEnglish
      41·
      10 months ago

      I suggest you give it another try, it can actually do what you’re asking it to do. Sounds like you just added the global feed of crap.

      For better results, you typically have to search “<newspaper website> rss” and hope they have decent support. It’s really hit or miss.

      For example, the independent that you were asking for, actually has a huge amount of fine tuning you can do. Go ahead and check their link and add the categories you’d like to read about instead catching all that junk you don’t care about:

      https://www.independent.co.uk/service/rss-feeds-775086.html