The story of RSS has been told in fanzine form by cartoonist Audra McNamee and contributor Allia Service in RSS is (Not) Dead (Yet). The 12-page comic released in 2023 describes how the original RSS boom died 10 years earlier when Google Reader shut down, after which the rise of social media did further harm by pulling users into silos and rejecting the ethos of the open web.
McNamee and Service go on to tell how RSS has experienced another boom with the enormous popularity of podcasting. But they argue that it is again under threat from the same kind of corporate greed:
Podcast streamers are buying up podcast media companies and targeted advertising companies, and trying to monopolize distribution (e.g. get everyone to use their app.
I felt very seen by the part about infighting and "warring visions" within the RSS community. It hasn't always been easy to be a member of the RSS Advisory Board, but there's some satisfaction in seeing how much RSS still matters today. McNamee and Service did a charming job of making that point.
Categories: RSS, Podcasting, RSS Is Dead, Audra McNamee, Allia Service
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