How to "friend" people on the open web with Miniflux
January 31, 2021•255 words
One of the ways that Facebook seduces users to stay within their walled garden is by making easy to follow a new friend, view/like/share their posts, or comment. As a result, both reader and writer can quickly and easily give each other hits of dopamine.
There are also tools to make connection with others outside of the walled gardens, such as RSS feeds/readers, Web clippers,
Unfortunately, these open alternatives are more difficult to learn and use. (There's a reason the FATMAG companies have become so popular.)
One important tool for staying in touch with others on the open web is an "RSS feed reader".
An RSS feed is a simply a series of posts, like entries in a journal. Most often, RSS feeds are text, but they can be any kind of content, such as Youtube videos, songs, or pictures.
An RSS reader allows you to subscribe to and read RSS feeds. There are many RSS readers out there, but I use and recommend the Miniflux RSS reader:
Miniflux doesn't try to lock you in (it's open source), and it's easy to use. It's primarily a web app, but there are also clients for mobile devices as well:
Microflux (Android):
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.constantin.microflux&hl=en_US&gl=US
Reeder (Mac / iOS):
Sometimes it's hard to find the URL for an RSS feed on a web site. To alleviate this problem recommend installing the "Get RSS Feed URL" Chrome Extension (https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/get-rss-feed-url/kfghpdldaipanmkhfpdcjglncmilendn)
...and the "Add to Miniflux" bookmarklet:
https://reader.miniflux.app/integrations
The "Get RSS Feed URL" extension lists any RSS feeds it can find on the page. You can then copy and paste the feed into "Add to Miniflux" booklet.