inessential by Brent Simmons

The Real Question

In an article about NetNewsWire 4, Dan Moren writes:

Of course, the real question is whether an RSS reader is still software that people get worked up about. With the demise of longtime RSS staple Google Reader and the incursion of social networks and alternative news reading apps like Flipboard, Nuzzel, and soon Apple News, an RSS reader seems decidedly last decade.

Is that the real question? I think it’s not. I think that, for some reason, many people think that that’s the real question when it comes to RSS readers.

There are plenty of software categories that are hot when they’re new, and then they settle down. RSS as a format remains huge (ask your local podcaster) — and RSS readers have become a type of productivity software that some people like and some people don’t. Simple as that.

I don’t mean to pick on Dan. Plenty of other writers write the same thing, which is why I bring this up.

By now, though, it should be clear that RSS readers are another one of those software categories that has quite a nice life after its hot period.