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RSS readers seem like such a good idea, but they've hardly caught on outside of tech groups. They weren't intuitive enough for most people to use, and we didn't

RSS readers seem like such a good idea, but they've hardly caught on outside of tech groups. They weren't intuitive enough for most people to use, and we didn't want another interface that we had to check. We also didn't want it to fill up our inboxes with notifications when we didn't have time to read. IMO, that's why Facebook continues to work well. You see updates from the people and the sites you want, and it's not at all overwhelming. There's no backlog of notifications to stress you out. Done right, I think browser notifications could be the solution we're looking for. I look forward to seeing different implementations. There are already plugins for major CMSs.

merpnderp 11y ago
This could be RSS feeds without needing an RSS feedreader. Sites you are interested in could just send you updates when they have something you might find interesting. Click it open in a tab and read at your leisure.
digi_owl 11y ago
Thats because they were never properly rolled into the browser UI. They were either stand along programs you had to be running, or were implemented as "live bookmarks".
hackuser 11y ago
> We also didn't want it to fill up our inboxes with notifications when we didn't have time to read. 1) Why would this messaging system deliver fewer notifications than RSS (besides the fact that few sites use this system yet)? 2) Why are popups on my screen a better interface than a mail-like interface? I strongly prefer the latter if I'm receiving many messages; lots of popups seem unpleasant.
illicium 11y ago
Publishers can't serve effectively serve ads through RSS. Ads have to be rolled into the post body and if the feedreader caches images, you can't track impressions. A way around it is to serve a preview of the article and require readers to read the rest on the publisher's website, but at that point you might as well just use Twitter.
- hackuser 11y ago
  > A way around it is to serve a preview of the article and require readers to read the rest on the publisher's website, but at that point you might as well just use Twitter. Don't say that. Reading Twitter isn't early as efficient as reading my RSS reader. I dread everyone moving to Twitter. Also RSS is open and Twitter is not (one reason there are better RSS readers).
TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago
RSS and push notifications solve different problems. RSS is for syndicating content: your news feed. Push notifications are for alerting you of interactions: new messages, replies, etc.

merpnderp 11y ago

This could be RSS feeds without needing an RSS feedreader. Sites you are interested in could just send you updates when they have something you might find interesting. Click it open in a tab and read at your leisure.

digi_owl 11y ago

Thats because they were never properly rolled into the browser UI. They were either stand along programs you had to be running, or were implemented as "live bookmarks".

hackuser 11y ago

> We also didn't want it to fill up our inboxes with notifications when we didn't have time to read. 1) Why would this messaging system deliver fewer notifications than RSS (besides the fact that few sites use this system yet)? 2) Why are popups on my screen a better interface than a mail-like interface? I strongly prefer the latter if I'm receiving many messages; lots of popups seem unpleasant.

illicium 11y ago

Publishers can't serve effectively serve ads through RSS. Ads have to be rolled into the post body and if the feedreader caches images, you can't track impressions. A way around it is to serve a preview of the article and require readers to read the rest on the publisher's website, but at that point you might as well just use Twitter.

hackuser 11y ago
> A way around it is to serve a preview of the article and require readers to read the rest on the publisher's website, but at that point you might as well just use Twitter. Don't say that. Reading Twitter isn't early as efficient as reading my RSS reader. I dread everyone moving to Twitter. Also RSS is open and Twitter is not (one reason there are better RSS readers).

TazeTSchnitzel 11y ago

RSS and push notifications solve different problems. RSS is for syndicating content: your news feed. Push notifications are for alerting you of interactions: new messages, replies, etc.