How I Keep Up With Tech Trends
Table of Contents
Why RSS is still the most efficient way to follow programming news without algorithmic noise.
“How do you follow all the tech news and programming trends?”
I sometimes get this question in interviews.
My answer is simple:
RSS.
Yes — that “dead” technology from the 2000s.
Why RSS Still Wins
Modern content consumption is algorithm-driven:
- Infinite scroll
- Engagement optimization
- Notification loops
- Recommended content you didn’t ask for
The result is noise.
RSS flips the model.
You choose the sources. You get the updates. Nothing else.
No ads. No ranking algorithms. No engagement tricks.
Just a chronological stream of content you explicitly subscribed to.
What Most People Don’t Realize
Most technical platforms still publish RSS feeds:
- Tech blogs
- Documentation sites
- Security advisories
- GitHub releases
- YouTube channels
- Reddit communities
- Mastodon accounts
RSS never died. It just stopped being marketed.
My Setup
I use News Explorer as my primary reader.
It supports:
- RSS feeds
- YouTube
- Mastodon
- Bluesky
- Podcasts
Everything syncs via iCloud across devices.
No external accounts. No cloud dashboards. No algorithmic layer.
Just folders and feeds.
Scale
I currently track 6,000+ articles across:
- Rust
- Polkadot
- Solana
- Security advisories
- Systems programming blogs
- General software engineering
All organized. All searchable. All in one place.
It replaces:
- Dozens of open tabs
- Social media scrolling
- Random bookmarking
- “I’ll read this later” lists
The Real Advantage
RSS creates a pull-based information system.
You are not fed content. You poll your sources.
This small inversion has large consequences:
- No FOMO
- No engagement pressure
- No missing updates because an algorithm deprioritized them
- No context switching into unrelated content
It is closer to how engineers think:
Deterministic input. Controlled sources. Minimal noise.
When It Makes Sense
RSS works best if:
- You care about specific ecosystems
- You follow technical releases closely
- You want signal over volume
- You value focus over discovery
It is not optimized for entertainment.
It is optimized for clarity.
Final Thought
If you feel like you are drowning in tabs, or missing important updates because a feed decided they were “low engagement,”
try RSS.
Sometimes the most boring technology is the most effective one.