Application Programming Interfaces, Really Simple Syndication and the Open Protocols

Application Programming Interfaces, Really Simple Syndication and the Open Protocols

Byrichard

Twitter and Reddit want to charge people to use their API despite already wanting people to pay them directly. Twitter decided to drive users away and make itself more expensive. As a result of this the website is imploding, rather than thriving. 


Yesterday I read that Reddit, too, wanted to charge users to access its API and whilst this may make sense to some, it’s absurd. It’s absurd because Twitter and Reddit can already charge their users directly for use. By increasing the cost of API use they are trying to get money from their users twice. Once for use of the website, and again for use of the website via APIs and third party apps. The result is that people could spend over a hundred francs per year to exchange messages. For that price we might as well return to SMS. 


Running alongside APIs we have really Simple Syndication and ActivityPub. Both are means of syndicating content but one is centralised whilst the other is not. 


Years ago people complained that Facebook sucked data into its ecosystem but then behaved like a silo, unwilling to share it. Twitter is making the same mistake. 


The ChatGPT explanation


Really Simple Syndication (RSS):

    Functionality: RSS is a standardized format for publishing frequently updated content, such as blog posts, news articles, podcasts, and more. It allows users to subscribe to content feeds and receive updates whenever new content is published.

    Use Case: RSS is commonly used by content publishers to provide their audience with a way to stay updated on new content without having to visit the website regularly. Users can use RSS feed readers or aggregators to subscribe to their preferred feeds and receive updates in one place.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs):

    Functionality: APIs are sets of rules and protocols that allow different software applications to communicate and interact with each other. APIs define how different components of software systems can interact, exchange data, and access functionality provided by another application or service.

    Use Case: APIs are used for various purposes, such as retrieving data from external sources, integrating different systems, enabling interactions with third-party services, and building software applications that rely on the functionality and data provided by APIs.

ActivityPub:

    Functionality: ActivityPub is a decentralized social networking protocol that enables users to create, share, and interact with social activities across different platforms or instances. It facilitates the exchange of social data and interactions between federated platforms, allowing users on one platform to communicate and engage with users on other platforms.

    Use Case: ActivityPub is used in federated social networks, where users can create profiles, post updates, follow other users, comment, like, and perform other social interactions. It allows users to have control over their data while being part of a larger interconnected social network.

chatGPT, as generated on the 3rd of June 2023 with the prompt: “What is the difference between Really Simple Syndication, Application Programming interfaces and Activitypub”


Twitter and Reddit want to charge for the use of their API but in the new age of social networks the shift is towards a decentralised model where everyone can talk to everyone else. 


On the FediDB website you see that Mastodon, Misskey, Peertube, pixelfed, Writefreely and Wordpress are included within the fediverse. People already have the freedom to join the instance and community that they want, whilst being connected to other instances. In so doing instances are individually controlled, but the reach is global. 


Whilst Twitter, Meta et al try to trap users into their ecosystems and charge them to use their website, their API and more, alternatives are being created where voluntary contributions are possible, to keep servers running. 


Twitter and Reddit want to charge people to access their databases and use their APIs, at the same time as the ActivityPub and Authenticated Transfer protocols are being developed.  At a time when Reddit and Twitter should be fighting to keep third party developers interested they are doing the opposite, by pricing them out of the development cycle. 


And Finally


For the first time since 2006 the Social Web is broadening again as new projects and ideas are developed and implemented that help connect people, without making them vulnerable to single points of failures. When Instagram and WhatsApp were bought by Facebook the web lost a lot of its resiliency. With the buying of Twitter by an individual the need to prevent this from ever happening again became clear and interesting solutions are coming up. I like that the Fediverse exists and is coming of age, and that BlueSky may run in parallel. Twitter and Reddit are trying to charge for their data, but their data is no longer niche. 

Video Podcasts as a way to avoid Algorithms

Video Podcasts as a way to avoid Algorithms

Byrichard

Today I opened YouTube, looked at the choice of videos and thought “I don’t feel like watching any of this content because of its headlines”, whilst eating lunch. Instead, I tried something less habitual. I opened the podcast app on my laptop and looked for videos that might be interesting.


I ended up watching one about air pollution in Geneva. I found the use of drones flying over Geneva interesting because I’m not allowed to fly in Geneva due to it being within a five-kilometer radius of Geneva but also because it’s a populated area and it’s illegal to fly over people without authorisation.


As video producers and content providers we always think of sharing content on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and algorithm-driven websites rather than RSS driven ones. With algorithms, we’re stuck competing with clickbait headlines, celebrities and content producers more popular than us.


It’s not unusual to see organisation websites with hundreds of videos but hardly any views. Unless you want to see that content it’s going to go unnoticed.


That’s where podcasting comes in. Instead of sorting through thousands of clickbait headlines, celebrities, personalities, and viral content I would get the content I subscribed to with a minimum of effort. It would also help to break away from the GAFAM monopolies. Headlines could be written for motivated readers with an interest in the subject, rather than sensationalist cinema review style writing. Content creators could return to treating their audiences like adults. We could go back to being treated like adults.


These shows are available as videos and podcasts.


Whereas video podcasting was unfeasible due to bandwidth limitations the situation today has changed. Mobile devices can now have over 256 gigabytes of space. 5G will make downloading content almost instant and screens are good enough to watch content comfortably.


COOP video recipes


The market for video podcasts is still small so if people want to produce video content without the limitations and challenges of YouTube and social media then this is an ideal platform.



You could easily see yourself downloading news and current affairs, recipes or fitness lessons without the limitations of other platforms. It’s Video On Demand, that you subscribe to. It’s nice because for now, video podcasting is a niche market.


I would love to see the choice and diversity of content increase. 1 and a half minutes to 5-minute videos, which are standard on YouTube, could easily be repurposed for mobile devices, laptops TVs, tablets and fridge doors. (That last one is a joke although with cooking programs it’s rational).


The time that I used to devote to social media could be reinvested creating content to be shared via RSS rather than social media. The idea of video podcasts is niche. It might be time to take advantage.

Snackr and RSS

Byrichard

With my love for the short form Snackr is a welcome addition to my world as an easy way to keep an eye on rss feeds. It’s a ticker box that scrolls all the latest articles. You can choose whether you whether you want every post over the past day to a week.

So far it’s been easy to use.