With a new feature called Followable Web for its web browser Edge, Microsoft is seeking to bring back the RSS feed.
The feature, which is currently only available to Edge Canary early access members, allows users to “follow” websites in order to receive a curated list of the most recent updates.
The sites that the user follows are displayed in a panel on the browser’s side, however to see all of the sites that the user has followed, users must go to the Collections menu.
Even for Microsoft Edge Canary users, the rollout is gradual, so don’t get too excited if you don’t see the functionality in your app yet.
RSS making a comeback?
RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, was formerly one of the most widely used methods for keeping track of websites. People were able to easily curate the latest content from their favourite destinations on the web using RSS readers. RSS’s rule, however, was short-lived.
The development of social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter basically put an end to RSS’s heyday by creating a new route for sharing and discovering web information. Google News and Microsoft News used an algorithm-based methodology to supply users with new content.
However, as the faults in the algorithm-based approach to content discovery become more apparent (misinformation, echo chambers, and so on), many people are looking for a method to have more control over the information they get.
With the new Followable Web functionality for Edge, it appears that RSS is poised to reclaim its place in the spotlight. Microsoft isn’t the only software giant working on an RSS feed feature for its browser; Google is working on a similar feature for Chrome as well.