Non-rhetorical question: How did email newsletter services like #Substack make reading blogs so popular again?

What would it take for #RSS to see the same success?

Maybe people would take #RSS more seriously if they understood that it is the basis of #podcasting.

The media in general and #creators specifically could spend a fraction of the time they take to "plug their socials" just explaining to people that RSS is a simple way to follow them.

I also think creators should free themselves from the dreaded algorithms by creating a feed that is updated whenever they release new content. I would argue that they should try to mirror as much of their content as possible on their own sites to control their own archive.

I think that a tool that helps creators aggregate their content across #Platforms would make a lot of difference. Then they can say "instead of following me on all those apps platforms you can just keep updated with rss".

It takes a lot of work to format videos for each #SocialMedia platform. You can't just upload your #YouTube video #TikTok but you can upload (or embed) all those videos to your own site which creates a feed that people can subscribe to with any #RSSApp.

#YouTubers #TikTokers #bloggers #blogs.

@jsit

@[email protected] @jsit That last paragraph really resonates! From a solo creator's POV, even with bulk scheduling tools that can post across platforms, it's a headache to manage and detracts from content creation. I'm also pro- "own your content on your site", à la #indieweb #POSSE (Publish on your own site, syndicate elsewhere).

That said, an #RSS reader lacks the ability of, say, #activitypub to comment and interact directly with video content, creators, and other users. (1/4)

In an alternate universe, YouTube Shorts, TikTok, IG Reels, Snapchat Spotlights, etc. would simply be RSS reader-like platforms, pulling content from sites using the same protocol (kind of like how there are multiple Mastodon clients), instead of the other way around.

So, I could host all my videos on my own singular video hosting site (or a cooperatively managed one), and people could follow, view, and comment on my content on their "viewer" of choice. (2/4)

This way...

- Users get to choose the interface they like best, while maintaining a single list of creators they follow,

- Creators simply upload their content on one platform that they own, and only need to manage / moderate comments from one place, while still being discoverable

- "Viewer platforms" can still implement whatever algos/filtering they want *AND* they save on storage

(3/4)

#Peertube is the closest thing to this, as far as I know, and has #rss + #activitypub, but it's not widely adopted. It's also not the simplest (or cheapest) thing to manage on your own.

Monetization, music licensing, moderation are whole other cans of worms too... 🫣

(4/4)