Google helped destroy adoption of RSS feeds (2023) (openrss.org)

Article summary

Google's actions have contributed to the decline of RSS feed adoption, despite relying on the open web RSS protocol to gain market share and influence. The company has removed RSS support from various products, including Google Reader, Google Alerts, and Google News, often without explanation. This has led to a loss of user trust and confidence in RSS feeds. Google's behavior is seen as an example of the 'Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish' model, where a company adopts an open standard, extends it, and then extinguishes it to promote its own proprietary technology.

Main themes

• RSS feed adoption
• Google's impact on open web
• Embrace, Extend, and Extinguish model
• Self-hosting and open source software
• Google's product shutdowns
• User trust and confidence

What commenters say

• Google's shutdown of Google Reader was a top-down decision, not due to lack of support or infrastructural costs, but rather a strategic choice to promote its own proprietary technology.
• The company's behavior has led to a loss of user trust and confidence in RSS feeds, driving users to self-hosted and open source alternatives.
• Some argue that Google's actions are a natural consequence of its business model, which prioritizes launching new products over maintaining existing ones, and that this approach is not conducive to long-term support for projects like Google Reader.
• Others propose that Google could have taken a different approach, such as spinning off maintenance of discontinued projects into separate companies or open-sourcing them, to allow them to continue thriving.
• The decline of RSS feeds has led to a renewed interest in curated and moderated platforms, such as blogs and community forums, as users seek out high-quality sources of information.
• There is no easy way to find quality sources, as mainstream and easily accessible sources are often gamed by SEO and advertising, and the best sources require human vetting and word of mouth to discover.
• Some commenters believe that Google's influence on the internet has gone full-circle, from curated lists and RSS feeds to automated ranking, and back again, with a new generation of browsers and search engines emerging to fill the gap.
• The importance of self-hosting and open source software has been highlighted by Google's actions, with many users turning to these alternatives to maintain control over their data and online presence.