The solution proposed seems interesting, but still requires an account with a third party, in this case the feed reader (if not online, a downloaded native app)

The solution proposed seems interesting, but still requires an account with a third party, in this case the feed reader (if not online, a downloaded native app). Given the nature of self-updating browsers and devices being permanently with or around users, I suggest something else. Let me follow whoever I want without creating an account, store these preferences in localStorage, then use it to build a news feed on the home page, just like a logged in user. Then, unobtrusively suggest other features that can only be made available to signed up users, due to technical constraints. (No, notifications are not such features; a browser extension that checks localStorage and raises browser notifications a la Chrome should be enough for non-logged in users).