RSS is the information superhighway
Sometimes it’s nice to zip by, sometimes you take an exit and enjoy the scenery, get lost for a while.
RSS feeds are great, almost indispensable for keeping up. Though, and I wish I’d saved a link, someone out there just said no to that notion and instead put together a system of reminders in some task manager for checking in on their favorite websites.
The reason that system has stuck with me has finally crystallized. RSS is a highway. It gets you quickly from one place to the next. Efficient. But you lose something along the way. The trade-off may be acceptable sometimes, but should be considered often.
RSS makes for a super smooth experience, but some of the best times I’ve had online recently harken back to the Old Web: just hopping from one personal website to the next, taking in the sights: each page exploding with passion, self-expression, links upon links to cool shit, writing filled with the freedom that comes from when you have absolutely nothing to gain, no algorithm to game and no follower count silently and so very loudly guiding your every more, turning you slowly but surely into a Content creator.