https://nikolaishelekhov.com Nikolai is a Rust software engineer building high-performance systems, backend and blockchain infrastructure. Zola en Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Thu, 15 Jan 2026 00:00:00 +0000 Nikolai Shelekhov https://nikolaishelekhov.com/blog/how-i-keep-up-with-tech-trends/ https://nikolaishelekhov.com/blog/how-i-keep-up-with-tech-trends/ <p>“How do you follow all the tech news and programming trends?”</p> <p>I sometimes get this question in interviews.</p> <p>My answer is simple:</p> <p>RSS.</p> <p>Yes — that “dead” technology from the 2000s.</p> <h2 id="why-rss-still-wins">Why RSS Still Wins</h2> <p>Modern content consumption is algorithm-driven:</p> <ul> <li>Infinite scroll</li> <li>Engagement optimization</li> <li>Notification loops</li> <li>Recommended content you didn’t ask for</li> </ul> <p>The result is noise.</p> <p>RSS flips the model.</p> <p>You choose the sources. You get the updates. Nothing else.</p> <p>No ads. No ranking algorithms. No engagement tricks.</p> <p>Just a chronological stream of content you explicitly subscribed to.</p> <h2 id="what-most-people-don-t-realize">What Most People Don’t Realize</h2> <p>Most technical platforms still publish RSS feeds:</p> <ul> <li>Tech blogs</li> <li>Documentation sites</li> <li>Security advisories</li> <li>GitHub releases</li> <li>YouTube channels</li> <li>Reddit communities</li> <li>Mastodon accounts</li> </ul> <p>RSS never died. It just stopped being marketed.</p> <h2 id="my-setup">My Setup</h2> <p>I use <strong>News Explorer</strong> as my primary reader.</p> <p>It supports:</p> <ul> <li>RSS feeds</li> <li>YouTube</li> <li>Reddit</li> <li>Mastodon</li> <li>Bluesky</li> <li>Podcasts</li> </ul> <p>Everything syncs via iCloud across devices.</p> <p>No external accounts. No cloud dashboards. No algorithmic layer.</p> <p>Just folders and feeds.</p> <h2 id="scale">Scale</h2> <p>I currently track 6,000+ articles across:</p> <ul> <li>Rust</li> <li>Polkadot</li> <li>Solana</li> <li>Security advisories</li> <li>Systems programming blogs</li> <li>General software engineering</li> </ul> <p>All organized. All searchable. All in one place.</p> <p>It replaces:</p> <ul> <li>Dozens of open tabs</li> <li>Social media scrolling</li> <li>Random bookmarking</li> <li>“I’ll read this later” lists</li> </ul> <h2 id="the-real-advantage">The Real Advantage</h2> <p>RSS creates a pull-based information system.</p> <p>You are not fed content. You poll your sources.</p> <p>This small inversion has large consequences:</p> <ul> <li>No FOMO</li> <li>No engagement pressure</li> <li>No missing updates because an algorithm deprioritized them</li> <li>No context switching into unrelated content</li> </ul> <p>It is closer to how engineers think:</p> <p>Deterministic input. Controlled sources. Minimal noise.</p> <h2 id="when-it-makes-sense">When It Makes Sense</h2> <p>RSS works best if:</p> <ul> <li>You care about specific ecosystems</li> <li>You follow technical releases closely</li> <li>You want signal over volume</li> <li>You value focus over discovery</li> </ul> <p>It is not optimized for entertainment.</p> <p>It is optimized for clarity.</p> <h2 id="final-thought">Final Thought</h2> <p>If you feel like you are drowning in tabs, or missing important updates because a feed decided they were “low engagement,”</p> <p>try RSS.</p> <p>Sometimes the most boring technology is the most effective one.</p>