I don’t blog anymore. Much easier to read my 4k google reader feeds via Feedly.com, Tweetie 2.1, Mobile-RSS + Byline Apps, then press retweet on the ipod touch.

(update 1 : I wrote this post one week ago after having saved it as a draft… but it wouldnt publish for some unidentified Wordpress HTML errors… just another reason why it’s hard to blog + easy to tweetie) So this post is 2 weeks late / 3rd time lucky... the path of least resistance eh! But we also know nothing of value is easy… (update 2: i’ve lost most of the post, but more the annotations… which was 80% of entry.. but ive added some more diatribe in to even it all up)

It seems the majority of people I speak to now believe Twitter has trumped RSS in terms of their own online subscription/reading behaviour : I’m constantly told Twitter has replaced their RSS reader, which basically means google reader unless they were Windows users on Newsgator. In one way this stupefies me as the content I get out of greader is so much richer, niche, less populist etc : I subscribe to product threads from forums; Twitter feeds on clothing brands and camera make/models. I watch regional low readership blogs on denim, kicks brands, cars etc - I dont see any of this content on Twitter; Twitter, even with the very basic lists (Lists by definition include all the entries from individuals…) but most people tweet about a range of things in their life.. so Lists without filtering to me is a pretty noisy place…

OK for some verticals like technology and breaking news Twitter and lists can work… but crappy (well lists are anyway) if I want to follow updates on the Canon S90 + G11s + Panasonic GF1 compact cameras - which Twitter saved searches works - Altho can u believe they are limited to 10 ? WTF I follow 4k feeds in greader incl all my twitter product and brand related saved searches and priority users I want coming into my feedly interface. Not to mention feedly gives me additional analytic like # of clicks from my twitter… (feedly being my main interface for reading content while on desktop then tweetie 2.1 and mobile rss on the ipod touch : as it has direct to twitter tweeting of entries from google reader, as well as shared items integration, while Byline and NetNewsWire have sharing but not twitter integration). However they are far weaker experiences than Tweetie is - Which I hope aims to move up the value chain and become a content platform for a range of web services such as google reader and re-aggregators like feedly; Let tweetie let feedly work on representing google reader so it looks better and has more analytics and tools than the barren greader.

When it gets down to the links I see being shared on Twitter from the 1700 decent enough people I follow - It generally reflects populist “early majority (not adopter)” types of people about what’s hot on news.com.au, digg.com, techmeme.com etc : This may be harsh, maybe it’s slightly more high end from that; And of course, Twitter breaks news; And often does so from insiders like we saw in Australia with journalists tweeting minute by minute changes in leadership before their own employer is able to get the information packaged up and delivered to market (via major public and private newspaper, radio, TV  was able to break the story) But (outside of tech/startups etc which i think where Scoble gets confused) Twitter does not give me everything I need; More like 17%.

So it seems we have some contradictory, dysfunctional human behaviour to understand whether RSS is dead (it isnt) Matt Mullenwegg well dealt with the fact that Wordpress or “mega-blogging” didnt kill Twitter or micro-blogging - That it was an “and” not “or” dichotomy. So when The Scoble + other like ego-life-narcisso-streams of android vs iphone pumped ambient noise pushed to self serving regurgitating autofollowers about whether Twitter killed blogging, rss, or google reader (the answer wails the bluesy chorus of “no, no, no”)

So *my  hypothesis* (i think) for purposes of a soundbite is “Tweetie killed RSS” - until some automagician can develop a next gen post 2 dimensional bland, no longer solely chronological, not as linear, not as web based, more mobile personalised zeitgeist that accelerates the path of least resistance - rather than bloat the path of too many unread irrelevant items; And makes it fun! Why cant u shake your iphone/mouse/trackpad to get a fascinating hot new item + then clap twice to have it retweetered ?

Just as the email inbox is busted + u have a whole bunch of new gist, xobni types social network + friend filtering in your inbox - so too does RSS need a bullshit detecting - this post is spam so dont get all angsty about not reading it.. in fact why even present the item to the touchscreener if it doesnt first meet the user rules; i’ve got 5 minutes in the morning before work + I need to know insider industry news - and not what every1 else has. Or I’ve got a 40 minute post work commute, so layer me up some entertainment’y not work offline sync’d streams. And let’s face it : The battleground is getting a good handset version… as the web has feedly and google reader.. but the mobile, iphone, blackberry etc only has some average free-$2.99 apps. There is no tweetie yet.

Also one week later - The Glee finale was satisfying enough - Grab it here if so inclined. But back to RSS vs Twitter vs the end of the larger than 140 character writing or reading : Worse than not blogging : If i go outside my own ‘in the industry friends’ + there is The Real Time Web Scoble Gilmor RSS is dead bandwagon who dont bother to read feeds anymore; “My friends on twitter will link to the top stories” - Sorry to disappoint u ppl but u (or i anyway) aint gonna get yer nourishment from a shared 122 times on google reader / retweeted 48 times / high ranking Digg.com/TechMeme.com piece. “From her to eternity: the phrase is an epitaph for Cave’s career. He has sculpted for himself, very deliberately, the mask of a timeless artist. Fully embraced now by both the tastemakers and the gatekeepers of Australian cultural life, his ascendancy has been enabled by a metaphorical pile of female corpses” The Monarch of Middlebrow

Not that I’m totally arguing against Twitter’s pull in replacing blogging and RSS; As mentioned I dont blog anymore esp when I can micro-blog. Steve Jobs taught me Smaller is Better. And the endpoint of small… is pretty much invisiblity : AKA where my blogging is. Ipod begat Ipod Mini and I’m sure Iphone will begat Iphone Mini. So blogging begat twitter, twitter begat foursquare and RSS is dead, not.

First some cutnpaste of an essay i found via @jessmcguire “Cave now occupies a curious position in Australian culture. Rather than the Black Crow King of his own imagination, he’s more the Monarch of Middlebrow. His likeness hangs in the National Portrait Gallery; his journals displayed at the National Library. His headline appearances bankroll summer music festivals and arts festivals alike while his early solo albums have been reissued in deluxe packages. You can buy his lyrics as a Penguin paperback. He is a cover star of weekend newspaper supplements and most recently of the Monthly, that over-earnest, reliably dull bush telegraph of all that is causing mild consternation among the nation’s opinion columnists.” The Monarch of Middlebrow

I’ve spent 5 years building up a list of RSS subscriptions. If I had to just survive on Twitter links for my reading nourishment I’d fkn die; A bunch of social media consultants latest quasi-to-non-disclosed viral social linkbait, no thx. “‘Where the Wild Roses Grow’ exemplified Cave’s ambiguous attitude to the music industry, and particularly to success in his home country. He accepted his 2007 induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame while maintaining a haughty contempt towards the honour; he dismisses song writing as ‘woman’s work’ while regularly expounding upon the elevating notion of his ‘muse’, who seems not to mind a chart success or two; and he has become determined during recent years to shape for himself, as he admitted frankly in his interview with Good Weekend, a legacy in the country that he left behind nearly thirty years ago.” The Monarch of Middlebrow

To summarise this post for the 140 character generation : I want a sexed up Feedly/Postrank/GoogleReader shape shifted into the svelte Tweetie 2.1 body - that allows me to swipe, shake + flick my reactions to grown up longer than 140 character generated content. Then RSS will live, long live the feed king. Until then Parra believes the Paper Zine will come back… and by entering market well before Apple’s 10.1 inch tablet… Steve Jobs may not have enough in him to go the long distance with Parra.. It may become a Paper vs RSS fight after all…

To leave my blog : Why not check out my Gourmet flickrstream kickslust… or maybe it’s actually luv when u throw in UNDFTD… like the above Gourmet X Undftd Quattro’s from UNDFTD Silverlake but not online!) Or maybe u prefer some Adidas Originals.. I know want some of those soon.. the cherry Official Mid ones by the UNDFTD Founder (James Bond - how kewl is that as a name.. a name: naff but also a superspy) or the Charcoal zip up Forum Mids, army influenced Nom De Guerres or totally sold out Adi Nizza Hi in Black - Porter collab with zip at back.. Or the below likely vexpensive deconstructed distressed Damir Doma Silent Assasins… now that’s a kewl name for some kix with steeze.

48-page photocopied zine of Parra drawings, published by Arkitip, Rockwell & Stones Throw, and CD. The music is disco & psych rock edits, 17 tracks by Parra & Tom Trago. Signed and numbered. Limited edition of 100.