By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/16

I've written before about why blogging on the web is still a great path. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks this. An interesting blog post, "No, RSS isn't dead", outlines a number of really good reasons why. One particular point caught my attention:

You're exposed to the remnants of the indie web. These are the people who are still creating cool stuff and sharing it because they want to, the people who don't know or don't care about SEO, the people you could have discovered in search results a decade ago but who have now been shunted down to page 25 by a massive fatberg of over-optimised content. They were probably on Twitter ten years ago but have now walked away in disgust. When you find someone like this today, you need to follow them because you won't find them again. RSS can help with that. In an age when search results have become polluted by SEO spam, think of RSS as an anti-SEO strategy.

I admit, I like the term "indie web". There's something underground-ish about it. It also reminds me of why I started Chromalucent in the first place, even though I'm not really a natural writer. Having a space where I can post all sorts of things without worrying about algorithms, likes, and memes seems like it should be the future. At least it did years ago when RSS was more widely in use. Sure, going it alone has downsides. You have to find ways to generate your own traffic. You have to manage site features on your own. And if you want to monetize your outlet, you'll have a harder road because there may not be as many available options.

On the other hand, I don't see these issues as downsides. Going your own way is just the flip side of the social media dynamic. Breaking through the endless noise, trying to differentiate yourself within popular memes, and dealing with the corporate limitations on the space allotted are all things that remain roadblocks with today's social media scene.

So will RSS-style content consumption make a comeback?

Maybe if a platform can capture more of the original web experience without the supposed handicaps. Maybe if readers and writters continue to get fed up with the current monotonous nature of social media. Maybe if everyone decides a more organic approach to online consumption is a better way forward. Sure, there's a chance. After all, the "indie web" never really went away and I don't think it'll be leaving us any time soon.

Tags: Blogging