What makes RSS so powerful is that it is an open format. RSS is one of the reasons the blogosphere grew so rapidly and it is the reason why podcasting exploded: because this open format allowed everyone to participate by simply publishing a feed anywhere on the web, without being restricted by platform requirements, closed APIs, and paywalls. And this superpower is also why RSS is having a renaissance today: it allows everyone to subscribe to, share, syndicate, and cross-post content on the open web. And it also enables creative automations using tools like Zapier, IFTTT, Huggin, or n8n.

There is no denying that RSS is having a moment again. Not only because it allows us all to improve the discoverability of our work and explore online content in a personalized and deliberate way, but also because it remains one of the most powerful and influential technologies of the open web. RSS already is the cornerstone of many open technology systems like podcasting, which can’t be owned and controlled by any one company. As Anil Dash notes, this alone is radical, because it is the triumph of exactly the kind of technology that's supposed to be impossible: open and empowering tech that allows people to have ownership over their work and their relationship with their audience.