Comments on: Why does it matter that Twitter is supplanting RSS?

By: Is RSS the “vinyl” of digital media? « brelson.com

Is RSS the “vinyl” of digital media? « brelson.com — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:59:19 +0000

[...] a new format that’s failed to go mainstream: usage of RSS readers is in decline and Twitter is supplanting it as a mass-market feed delivery channel. But there are definitely similarities between the formats, [...]

By: Mark Essel

Mark Essel — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:31:41 +0000

We still have choices.
Identi.ca, real time RSS with pubsubhubbub, and RSSCloud.
Friendfeed was an awesome variation/improvement conversation tool but has been picked up by Facebook.

Google tried the open social protocol not too long ago. A social protocol is still not only likely, but inevitable. Bypassing gatekeepers is what the Internet does best. Even our legislation bends to keep it that way. Net neutrality will not only pass, but be actively pursued as a technological embodiment of liberty.

Great post, thanks for keeping your eyes open.

By: Mark Essel

Mark Essel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:31:41 +0000

By: Twitter/RSS « Five Years Too Late

Twitter/RSS « Five Years Too Late — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 11:28:55 +0000

[...] to something another blogger writes, I’ll do so in the comments section there, but two of Chris’ recent posts inadvertently touched on a theme I’ve spent a bunch of time thinking about over the last [...]

By: eran shir

eran shir — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:03:25 +0000

Chris, you're so right. I sure hope long term real, open Twitter-like protocol will gain ground. Few months ago I wrote a post about the possibility of using Twitter as an RPC platform (http://bit.ly/1a6Tq9), and had a similar rant:

“So what is my only issue with this rosy picture? It's the fact that Twitter is a service built inside a single company, that has full control over how people are using it. Envision a world without e-mail. Now think today someone will come up with this cool idea of a one-to-many push idea and name it “Twiemail”. How comfortable would you be living in a world where there's that company that is the sole proprietor of your main way of communicating with people, and can ban you out any minute, censor your messages or what not? Why are we still comfortable with it when it's “one-to-many pull” rather than push?”

It was especially vivid when Google released Wave and showed how it's done, with Wave Federate etc. (unrelated to the fact that Wave itself is a bad idea

By: Why does it matter that Twitter is supplanting RSS? | Igniting Startups - nPost

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 19:04:19 +0000

[...] From cdixon.org [...]

By: Nathan Bowers

Nathan Bowers — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 20:39:12 +0000

The "social graph" is not important at all, at least from a user perspective. Humans are good at keeping their social graph in their heads, we don't need or want Facebook to turn it into lifeless, marketable data.

As for RSS, the problem is that its user experience *really* sucks. Only nerds could ever figure it out, while following via Twitter or Tumblr is easy and fun.

Also, Twitter and Tumblr have sharing, retweeting, and making friends baked in, while RSS has a one-way "broadcasty" feel.

By: lucasgonze

lucasgonze — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:30:10 +0000

I discovered this post in Google Reader, not Twitter, so something is keeping me there. Maybe it's just temporary, maybe not.

By: chris dixon

chris dixon — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:20:43 +0000

Well, the government regulated and then broke up AT&T.

By: dlifson

dlifson — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:16:01 +0000

I apologize for being late to the conversation (vacation will do that to you) but this is fascinating. Historically, in what other ways have public utilities heavily dependent on network effects been built out by private interests? Telecommunications and railroads come to mind. Is there precedent for the government stepping in and forcing a private protocol into a public communications standard?