Like cell phones and IM, RSS is losing its luster for me.I'm a tech guy, and I've always been fascinated by new technologies—from my very first Texas Instruments computer, which let me save programs to a tape recorder, to my current obsession with Apple's GarageBand.
However, while my enthusiasm for some technologies remains strong, my initial fascination quickly turns to apathy—if not downright hostility—for others. Two good examples are instant messaging and cell phones.
I'm not exactly hostile toward cell phones. I just wish people used their phones the way I do. To me, a cell phone is a convenience—helpful for meeting up with people, car emergencies and travel. My friends often joke that they don't know why I bother to have a cell phone because I never turn it on. But there are many times when I'd just rather not be bothered by phone calls.
Stronger is my dislike for instant messaging. I know this makes me look like a crotchety old Luddite to the current generation of kids, who use IM much more than they use e-mail, but, to me, IM combines all the worst elements of phone calls and e-mails while providing very few of their benefits.
IMs often come at inopportune times, they are harder to end than a phone call, and they can't be put off as easily as an e-mail. I know you can configure your IM client to reduce some of these hassles, but, after many trials at configuring IM, I've found only one configuration that truly works for me—turning it off.
Now another cool, trendy, wave-of-the-future technology that I once found compelling is leaving me cold and disinterested—namely, RSS feeds. I'm not a latecomer to RSS feeds; I've been using them since they first came out, and I've tried very hard to maintain my enthusiasm for them. I've used open-source feed reader clients; I've had feeds delivered to my e-mail box; I've used the Live Bookmarks in Firefox; and I've used syndication Web sites to control my feed subscriptions.
But after years of really trying to like RSS feeds, I'm finally waving the white flag. This is another technology that just isn't for me. (And, yes, I realize that some of you are reading this column after receiving it through an RSS feed.)
David Coursey thinks that RSS needs a friendlier name to appeal to the public. Click here to read more.
As I do with IM and cell phones, I think part of the problem is that feeds— while empowering in some ways—also remove some of the user's independence. Once subscribed to a feed, you just keep getting it, whether you want that day's info or not. No matter how I get the feeds delivered, they eventually become noise on my desktop or even an actual nuisance that I'd rather not deal with. Feeds delivered through e-mail clients are the worst, as they eventually become associated with other e-mail nuisances, such as spam.
Read the full story on eweek.com: RSS: Not on My Desktop
Web Design 
