From RSS readers to RSS triggers

I use RSS to trigger an email for new posts (via Zapier or IFTTT). I save to Pocket, from email, the ones I’m interested in.

In high school and uni, I used Google Reader. And then others.

I had to keep switching because products were sunset, or I changed what I wanted from the UX, or my hardware was just not supported.

I decided to split up the features － modularize what I was asking a single tool to do for me.

1. One tool to collect content from sources.
2. The second displays the collected content to me.
3. The last lets me consume the content.

I don’t talk about notes or annotating. That was never the job of the RSS reader.

This is what the set up looks like now.

1. IFTTT and Zapier to collect content from sources. I rely on blogs, magazines, podcasts, whatever, making available an RSS feed.
2. My email client displays the collected content to me. Both IFTTT and Zapier send me RSS feed content via an email. I don’t read in my email (except for the CBC’s What On Earth, an exceptionally well-made newsletter, which I ironically like to leave in my inbox for future reading if I have a flight coming up)
3. Pocket is where I consume the content. From the email, I save to Pocket. If it’s text content, Pocket remembers where I stop reading.

I know, this is more steps than a one-stop shop reader. But I don’t read everything from a feed and the endless stream can deter me from reading. In Pocket, I have a self-curated shortlist. I also love email newsletters, and this set up lets me filter from both RSS feeds and newsletters into Pocket.

Join me! 💬

Thanks for reading all the way through! Let me know what you think. You can (at)me on Mastodon or Twitter.

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