Note: This post is not about politics!
You might have seen this orange button lying around the internet, here and there, never giving it a second thought. In this post I explore the joys of the orange buttons.
The orange button represents what is called an RSS ( Really Simple Syndication ) or an Atom feed, which is a very useful web standard to keep track of websites, podcasts, aggregators etc.
This post will also serve as a guide to effectively incorporate RSS into your life to be more productive and informed. Basically, this simple trick will BLOW YOUR MIND!
So, what is an ‘RSS’?
The best way to understand RSS is to think of it as an orange ‘Subscribe’ button. A simple button to keep track of almost anything on the internet. Here is a few things we can ‘subscribe’ to using RSS :
- News Sites
- Blogs
- Podcasts
- Google Groups
- YouTube channels… you name it
The why?
Why care about something like RSS? Every app we use already gives us more notifications than we asked for? Here are a few reasons why I care…
- I can use just one application for all my feeds.
- An RSS gives me a dumb feed. So there is no bell icon – shadow ban – broken notification shenanigans to worry about.
- One of the only ways I know to keep track of what I have and haven’t ‘read’ yet
…etc
Okay, here is what we need to do…
Step 1 : Get an RSS Client
An RSS client is a software that manages all the feeds you are subscribed to, and sends you notifications. The RSS clients come in different colors, shapes and sizes. These are the commonly recommended :
- TinyTinyRSS (Web based, you can use it on Chrome and Firefox)
- RSSOwl (Desktop Clients)
- Newsboat (Console based)
- Handy News Reader (Android)
Step 2 : Give your RSS client some feeds to keep an eye on.
Uff… what is there to explain here?
Rookie mistake #1 - Don’t add feeds that you are not going to be interested in. Especially news feeds. News feeds are generally spam. Spam is literally Hitler!
Rookie mistake #2 - Trying to keep up and read all the unread feeds when you don’t have the time. If something that doesn’t profit you feels like a chore, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Feel free to mark any post ‘read’, that you don’t plan on reading.
Some RSS feeds you might be interested in :
# A very important, useful and interesting blog
http://akumar.xyz/blog/index.xml
# Doordarshan News
http://ddnews.gov.in/rss-feeds
# This website is aimed at UPSC aspirants. However, its a good
# news source to keep track of current affairs regardless.
https://www.insightsonindia.com/feed/
# Infowars - Mainly US related things
https://rss.infowars.com
# no? okay try CNN Top Stories
http://rss.cnn.com/rss/edition.rss
2-A. Subscribing to a YouTube channel
The RSS feed link for any YouTube channel looks like this :
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=<channel-id>
Just replace <channel-id> with an actual channel
ID. Cool. Bob’s your uncle.
Examples
# Subscribe to PewDiePie!
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UC-lHJZR3Gqxm24_Vd_AJ5Yw
# No? Okay.. Subscribe to T-Series!
https://www.youtube.com/feeds/videos.xml?channel_id=UCq-Fj5jknLsUf-MWSy4_brA
2-B. Subscribing to a Podcast
RSS feeds are very common in the podcasting scene. Perhaps the best way to find the feed for a podcast is :
Podbay.fm -> Search Podcast -> Orange button (or ctrl+f ‘RSS’)
2-C. Subscribing to Google Groups
Yes. Orange button to be found at the ‘About’ page of a group.
Step 3: ????
Step 4: Profit!
Also, Aaron Swartz
Finally, I believe that a discussion of RSS such as this can not be is complete without the mention of Aaron Swartz, the internet’s own boy. The following video is an interview of Cory Doctorow, a friend of Aaron Swartz and an esteemed author.