Aug 8, 2008
What’s better—RSS or email subscriptions?
I’m happy when people subscribe regardless of how.
But Jesse Hines argues (almost convincingly) that email is better for readers than RSS.
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© 2012 Abuyo. All rights reserved.
Aug 8, 2008
I’m happy when people subscribe regardless of how.
But Jesse Hines argues (almost convincingly) that email is better for readers than RSS.
* * * * *
I like e-mail better because I check it faithfully a few times a day, and I know I’ll be sure to see new posts in a timely manner. If I don’t have time to read blogs, then I still have it in my inbox to go back to easily.
I do have some RSS subscriptions for things I can’t get through e-mail, and I often forget to check them because they don’t show up right in front of me every time I’m on the computer.
Google reader for blogs. Gmail for mail. Gchat for wasting time. Life is good.
I definitely use RSS…I never check e-mail…For anyone trying to reach me by the latter…rots-o-ruck, chumps…even my hubby can’t do that…
I think for most people Email is an everyday sort of thing that they do without thinking about it. A person probably has to remind themselves, unless they’re just hardcore bloggers, to check their RSS.
NetNewsWire for Macs is a great RSS Reader.
Hey, Abraham
This was a surprise–being linked to by one of my favorite blog authors.
Almost convincingly? I guess I need to step up my arguments then.
What would definitively convince you?
Anyway, for me, since I switched from RSS to email, I’ve been able to enjoy reading blogs much more.
Simplify, simplify.
(Forgive the 22+ word rant here, but…)
IMHO, RSS feeds are by far the best. I seriously doubt that I’m in the minority in feeling that a frequently updated blog hitting my inbox looks and smells like spam, however informative.
The inbox that I use and check regularly is primarily for work and similar things with an acute nature.
Most email clients can plug RSS feeds straight into the client that for all intents and purpoases act like a folder with an email rule associated with it, which most people will use to help organize their email.
RSS, cuz getting behind doesn’t mean you have an inbox full of leisure reading.
With RSS, you can see how many, from which blog, and they are waiting when you aren’t busy.
Jesse,
I think almost is as good as you’re going to get with me.
I read too many blogs to switch to email. And I don’t really like email.
But you make good points about there being fewer distractions with email, especially because it only comes once a day.
Abraham,
Oh well.
If did still read a lot of blogs, then I would have to switch back to RSS myself.
Email only works when you subscribe to a limited number, as I’ve forced myself to do lately.
Different strokes…
I can’t imagine reading 80 blogs by email. But it’s easy over RSS. If I only read three blogs, though, I’d do it by email.
Google Aps are so great. E-mail checking … click Reader in another tab … now blog checking.
I’m a huge Google Reader fan, but something’s up with my 22W subscription– I’m getting stuff several hours after you post. I unsubscribed & resubscribed, but no change. Boo.
I only use RSS because I can ignore it for weeks if I need to, but I use email for communication, so I check it at least once a day (usually more).
I use Google reader, with the Google Reader Notifer for Mac which gives me the number of unread blogs on my menu bar.
The best part is the ability to “Mark All as Read”.
Then I am free to participate only as much as I want to.
I personally like the RSS, because I have it set up on my home page to see updates on blogs and stuff, when I turn on my computer.
I do wish there was a way to be notified of new comments on a select few blogs. I often forget to go back to check the comments on a recent post once I read the post itself if NetNewsWire.
RSS used through iGoogle. Everything on one page, refreshed automatically.
Google Reader. Doesn’t get much better.
Exactly what Charles Jannace said. I have iGoogle as my home page with the feeds organized by tabs. I would go crazy getting all the feeds from all the blogs I check in my email.
yup, google reader within igoogle. a few blogs (like justin taylor’s) even have their own igoogle app, and those that don’t are all on google reader.
email is for online shopping, close friends, family, and the “real” world (i.e. work, organizations, and those who don’t have facebook).
Email subscriptions for blog posts is like receiving individual pages of a newspaper in seperate envelopes in your mailbox.
You could do it… I guess. But what is the point?
When a real person sends you an email (non-spam), you are expected to read it and respond appropriately in a timely manner.
Blogs are not as time sensitive and require less immediate response than mail.
Mixing the two makes it difficult to tell what is time-sensitive and what is something to read as I get time.
I have 378 unread blog articles. I have 8 unread emails. Maybe you see my point.
i did the mail thing for a few months. But then came across NetNewsWire for Mac’s as an RSS feeder but opens the actual page inside the RSS program! I love it!
Bloglines Beta is the best, (Jesse hasn’t tasted and seen how good it is ;) ) that’s why i think she likes email subscription. Google rss reader is a very poor rss syndicate.
I thought this was quite funny, as just last week I actually set up Google Reader for the very first time, via Abraham’s post on Molly’s website. I never really knew what it even was before. But I LOVE it! So I had to laugh when I read this post, as I’m totally new to subscribing via RSS feeds.
I limit myself to checking Google Reader once per day. Email once per day, Google Reader once per day. It works great. Otherwise, I could waste a lot of time.
Definitely RSS. I subscribe to about 20 blogs & if I got an email every time something new was posted (which is usually daily) I’d would have 20+ emails to sort through daily. No thanks! RSS is SO much more convenient.
RSS for me. (I like Bloglines best, but there are several good RSS readers available.)
If I start feeling stressed because I’ve subscribed to too many feeds, I unsubscribe to the ones that are causing the stress. Unfortunately, not all email newsletters let you unsubscribe easily (if at all!)
An additional drawback to email subscriptions that hasn’t been mentioned yet is that you have to give up a bit of privacy (an email address). Not so with RSS feeds.
Do you know, does WordPress provide any way to see the number of people who subscribe to your blog?
After being subscribed to 108 RSS feeds, there is no way that I would switch now.
jamsco – I would suggest setting up an account with FeedBurner.com. You can find all sorts of information out about your subscribers.
I’m a fan of RSS personally. It keeps my inbox free of mass amounts of articles. It’s Google Reader for me… Sorry, Jesse Hines.
I’m amazed every one of your entries is 22 words.
Must build character to manage pulling that off!
But don’t you feel requiring only 22, not less and not more, hampers your creativity? You are now beholden to the tyranny of this rule, and have to structure sentences to fit this, regardless of whether it is helpful or hurtful.
To me, email is stuff “pushed” to ME specifically (or time-sensitive, like opt-in ads).
Blogs – they’re more like “broadcast” news that I “pull” at my leisure.
For for me, like pretty much everyone else, RSS and Google Reader are the only way to go.
Bamboo,
Obviously 22 words limits what I can do on this blog. But I wouldn’t say it limits it in a hampering way, but a focusing way.
The rule I’ve set for myself forces me to think through things more carefully than if I just posted whatever I wrote first.
Not to put myself in too high of company, but you see the same effect in forms of poetry. Sonnets and haiku are very strict, for instance, but they enable the poet to go places that formlessness never could.
Thanks for asking and reading!