world's okayest rss explainer

hi there :]

Are you trying to get off of [insert social media here]? Are there people you Like and Respect that you just can't keep up with anywhere else? Do you just wanna keep up with literally whoever without having to make another goddamn account for it? We're gonna solve all those problems, together, right now. Welcome to my terrible RSS explainer.

what the hell is even that

So, like, better explanations for RSS are out there. But you're here. RSS (really simple syndication) lets websites show off their recent updates in a neatly-formatted little file. These files can be read by things that read feeds, and presented to you in a readable format. So, you can basically follow anything with an RSS feed like it was a social media profile. And you don't even need an account! If you wanna get off of whatever stupid social media your friends just can't let go of, follow along below.

choose your reader

First stop, choosing your reader. You need to actually be able to read the feeds before picking out the feeds to read. Thing is, there are a Lot of feed readers. Here's some (browser/desktop-focused) picks to get you started. I've used Newsblur in the past, and I've heard good things about Bazqux. Fraidycat and Feedbro both come in browser extension form. If you're trying On Purpose to not constantly check your reader, Artemis only updates once a day.
Keep in mind that some social media sites can and will fight for their life to keep your grubby little signed-out hands from their websites. If you're looking to replace a specific social media site in your life, check to see if the reader you're looking at has some built-in functionality for it. And if you end up not liking your reader, you can Just Leave. Any reader worth its salt will give you export/import options.

get your feeds

Many standalone websites and blogs have RSS feeds you can find through a little icon (like this, or the little icon next to the subscribe button on this page). If you're lucky, you can just shove the base URL in your feed reader and let it sort things out. There are also a lot of automatically generated RSS feeds out there. Every Neocities website, podcast, Leaflet publication (this very blog included!) and most Tumblr blogs have feeds you can just follow, like, right now.
Singling out Tumblr for a second because I still struggle w checking Tumblr obsessively. To follow a whole blog, plug https:// [tumblr username] .tumblr.com/rss into your reader. For a specific tag on a blog, https:// [tumblr username] .tumblr.com/ [tag] /rss works. This might not work if the blog in question doesn't have a desktop theme enabled. But desktop themes are cool outside of the RSS functionality, and you should have one/encourage your friends to have them regardless.
Other social media profiles vary, and you may have to rely on your feed reader doing Technical Things, or use a "social media-to-rss feed" generator website. Sometimes these third-party generators break because of how many people use them. On the other hand, they're popular enough that you should be able to find another solution if your Facebook feeds all kick the bucket at once.

go forth! be free!

RSS has been around, like, forever, but the art has been lost among the social media-brained. Tell your friends! Let them have a chance to leave social media, FOMO-free! Tell your enemies! Maybe they'll finally delete their blasted accounts! And use your newfound RSS Powers to subscribe to this blog! Unless you read my previous post, and subscribed with your ATProto account.