Live the internet at your own pace

Manu Moreale, on why he is getting rid of feeds in his digital routine:

I don’t want to live a life where “staying up to date” is a priority. I don’t need that. I don’t need to always know what’s going on everywhere and with everyone. And neither do you (probably). Which doesn’t mean that I stopped reading or listening to what people have to say. I still enjoy reading good blog posts and listening to great podcast episodes. It simply means that I’m no longer subscribed to their feeds.

I see his point, but it implies that feeds have to be read now, and that unread counters have to be down to zero.

I have the opposite approach : I use feeds for most things (RSS, Twitter, newsletter) — even for YouTube channels I use RSS — but I don’t mind an unread counter; from time to time I just mark everything as read. I prefer feeds because it is a centralised way of following topics I care about and minds I value. Feeds are a way for me to not wander too much. I have a few websites that I keep checking via direct access, but mostly because of their superior homepage.

I join Moreale on his conclusion though :

Good content is rarely time sensitive. You don’t need to consume it NOW. Take your time, live the internet at your own pace.

Exactly. That is also why I don’t follow too many people on Twitter, I don’t subscribe to too many podcasts, etc. Same goal, different ways.