By Ian Hollidae, 2025/10/31

I've been running across a lot of articles related to RSS lately. It makes me wonder about which way the tides of blogging are shifting. Is a return to organic posting really under way? I get the feeling a lot of the noise resides in the more tech-oriented communities.

Personally, I'd like to see a larger segment of the web get back to independent blogging, but as some have pointed out, the issue of discovery, outside the social media format, still hasn't been solved. Simply putting an RSS feed on your site has never been the answer. Feed aggregators were a step forward, but clearly, they couldn't keep up with web indexing. I don't blame people for sticking with social media. A ready made gathering place is hard to ignore. I think if there is a solution, it'll have to be something no one has thought about.

For now, here's some of what I've come across:

• A deep dive into the rss feed reader landscape (Lighthouse)
• Have we passed peak social media? (Financial Times)
• In Praise of RSS and Controlled Feeds of Information (Tom Burkert)

Tags: blogging

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/16

I've written before about why blogging on the web is still a great path. It seems I'm not the only one who thinks this. An interesting blog post, "No, RSS isn't dead", outlines a number of really good reasons why. One particular point caught my attention:

You're exposed to the remnants of the indie web. These are the people who are still creating cool stuff and sharing it because they want to, the people who don't know or don't care about SEO, the people you could have discovered in search results a decade ago but who have now been shunted down to page 25 by a massive fatberg of over-optimised content. They were probably on Twitter ten years ago but have now walked away in disgust. When you find someone like this today, you need to follow them because you won't find them again. RSS can help with that. In an age when search results have become polluted by SEO spam, think of RSS as an anti-SEO strategy.

I admit, I like the term "indie web". There's something underground-ish about it. It also reminds me of why I started Chromalucent in the first place, even though I'm not really a natural writer. Having a space where I can post all sorts of things without worrying about algorithms, likes, and memes seems like it should be the future. At least it did years ago when RSS was more widely in use. Sure, going it alone has downsides. You have to find ways to generate your own traffic. You have to manage site features on your own. And if you want to monetize your outlet, you'll have a harder road because there may not be as many available options.

On the other hand, I don't see these issues as downsides. Going your own way is just the flip side of the social media dynamic. Breaking through the endless noise, trying to differentiate yourself within popular memes, and dealing with the corporate limitations on the space allotted are all things that remain roadblocks with today's social media scene.

So will RSS-style content consumption make a comeback?

Maybe if a platform can capture more of the original web experience without the supposed handicaps. Maybe if readers and writters continue to get fed up with the current monotonous nature of social media. Maybe if everyone decides a more organic approach to online consumption is a better way forward. Sure, there's a chance. After all, the "indie web" never really went away and I don't think it'll be leaving us any time soon.

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/07/14

And just like that, I've been blogging on Chromalucent for a year. As someone who isn't a natural writer, this has to be viewed as an accomplishment. To be honest, I didn't think I'd get this far. Glad I was wrong.

I wrote a while back about my blogging efforts. I can't say that anything has changed. I do wonder if had chosen to blog on Twitter/X, as opposed to going my own way, would I have lasted this long. While Twitter/X has plenty of people, cutting through the noise requires a different set of posting tactics. I guess I could add Twitter/X as an outlet and find out but I think a traditional blog is enough.

And now, on to year two.

By Ian Hollidae, 2024/12/30

Entering 2024, there were a number of projects I wanted to get off the ground. One of those projects was this blog, and back in the spring, I made good on the attempt. Now that we're leaving 2024, this seems like the right time to reflect on my efforrts.

Why Blog? Why Now?

For a long time, I thought about starting a blog but I had my doubts whether I could do it well. What initially got me interested in blogging were some great sites I ran across over the years that published quality output even though the writers weren't professionals. I myself am not a natural writer which added to my interest and doubt. What held me back for so long was the constant question of why blog when it's clear the world turned to Twitter/X and social media long ago. Regardless, there was definitely a need to try. I should mention that I did try Twitter/X a few years back but it seemed so temporary and disposable. I didn't keep at it for long.

Along with all my doubts, I had a ton of questions. What exactly would I blog about? Should I have a broad focus on a lot of topics or a narrow focus on a few? I had questions about post frequency, post types and drifting purpose. The list of issues went on and on.

Sitting down and trying to answer these questions before starting a blog seemed like the obvious way to find answers. In most situations, it's better to go into something with some sort of plan. Turns out, at least in my case, this isn't entirely true. Having a plan was helpful but when you're about to press the publish button, there seems to be a dynamic I wasn't prepared for even after having been on Twitter/X.

A Few Reflections

The first thought that came to mind was that developing a style is a real thing. I seemed to get stuck between trying to be formal and "polished" and just going with the flow. Mixing the two in a single post absolutely doesn't work. Looking around at other blogs can certainly provide a guide but ultimately, you'll have to find your own voice.

Secondly, the depth to which you dive into a subject is another item that keeps cropping up. Doing a deep dive without rambling is basically akin to writing a paper for school or report for work. If you don't enjoy the outlining/rewriting process, this can really zap someones motivation. In some cases, I did fine with it because I really liked the topic. However, I have to admit, there were other times when a potential post faded away. And if there is a time element to your topic, an upcoming or recent event for example, depth level can truly be affected.

But I think the biggest item of reflection was the overall question of is starting a blog worth it. I came to the conclusion the answer was yes mainly because it's been a great learning experience even if the experience wasn't always smooth sailing. Coming up with entry topics ran hot and cold. Sometimes I had plenty of topics and plenty of ways to present them. Other times I had a few topics and no presentation seemed adequate. All the things I anticipated that could affect my post freqency (finding time to blog) got replaced by things that actually would affect my frequency (taking more time to complete a single post).

Effort Has Its Own Rewards

In the end, despite not answering all the questions I had, I've been happy with the final results. Maybe less really is more. Maybe getting it "right" counts more than I imagined. Or maybe starting off cautious and slow was the best thing even if that's not what I planned.

So will I ever find a style? Will I ever post at the frequency I'd like to? Do I care if the focus of this blog drifts over time?

Maybe these questions are what I can look forward to answering in 2025.