Radosław Miernik has a post that’s another paean to RSS. He explains what RSS is, how it works, and its advantages to the reader. It’s mostly used to track blog entries but its application is actually broader. Basically any site that posts periodic content can offer an RSS feed to alert their readers when there’s something new.
Miernik uses the free version of Feedly, which, he says, works well for him because he doesn’t need to search the entries or interface his reader to other applications. For Emacs users who do want those capabilities, the very best choice I know of is Elfeed. You can manage, read, classify, and search your feeds directly from Emacs. As I’ve said before, I can’t recommend Elfeed enough.
I’m always a little confused when I read a post like Miernik’s, though. They usually start by accepting that RSS is a lost technology that deserves to be resurrected. I inevitably do a double take whenever I read that. To me, RSS is like the air: it’s something that’s just there. An essential and necessary part of the environment. I don’t know where the notion that RSS is a technology lost in the sands of time comes from but it’s certainly not my experience.
I suppose there’s a certain type of person who thinks that now that Google no longer supports it, RSS has ceased to exist. I think that Google got out of the RSS game for a reason and that that reason benefited them and not us. Regardless, RSS is a valuable service to those who follow multiple sites and I join Miernik is praising it and encouraging others to make use of it.