Medium-logo-dark500The only way you’ve been able to read or be alerted to new posts by writers on Medium has, up until now, been on the site itself. The site – which seems to embrace how it is both a publisher and a platform at the same time it says it’s neither, really – has adopted this model because the emphasis has been on it being a network where you connect with people you know and enjoy reading. It’s essentially Twitter for long-form.

Now they’re embracing off-site distribution with the launch of Letters, a feature that will deliver new posts you write to the email inboxes of the people who follow you. Medium positions this with the following statement:

Letters have the potential to provide what blogs used to through RSS subscriptions.

That is representative of a shift that’s been underway for a couple years now to not only prioritize email as a distribution point but actively move away from RSS. If you visit many sites, particularly those of the new generation of media outlets or corporate blogs, you’ll notice the RSS icon that was pervasive for the better part of a decade is no longer there amidst icons for Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, email and whatever other networks the publisher feel is relevant to their audience.

(I’m a well-known and long-time advocate of RSS since I feel it’s a superior syndication tool. But while my allegiance remains strong (RSS remains how I consume 95% of my news, with email and apps like Circa filling in the gaps) I understand that I’m not representative of the general public in this and many other ways, such as my contention there’s no better band in the world than Huey Lewis & The News. So I’m always going to think RSS is the superior delivery platform.)

Whether it wants to be a publisher or a platform, Medium has always exhibited the attributes of a social network. You followed people and got their updates in a system that was essentially Twitter but for long-form updates. But those updates, like Twitter and other networks, went into a feed that was fine as long as you didn’t follow to many people/publications. When you hit a certain scale the same problems cropped up that happen on Twitter: the updates fly by you if you aren’t looking at it regularly and you miss things.

That’s obviously at least one of the issues Medium is trying to address here, allowing publishers to push their updates in front of readers. But even then, the influx of emails is going to become overwhelming. That’s because email is a dog, begging and whining to go outside and barking every time someone walks down the sidewalk, constantly alerting you and wondering IF YOU’VE SEEN THIS!!! RSS is a cat, ready for your attention when you have time but also quietly chilling out while you’re busy and whatever.

I’ve long wished Medium would support RSS but email is…alright, though obviously a less efficient option. The site is at least finally acknowledging that off-site distribution is a good idea.

I’m a well-known and long-time advocate of RSS since I feel it’s a superior syndication tool. But while my allegiance remains strong (RSS remains how I consume 95% of my news, with email and apps like Circa filling in the gaps) I understand that I’m not representative of the general public in this and many other ways, such as my contention there’s no better band in the world than Huey Lewis & The News. So I’m always going to think RSS is the superior delivery platform.

I’ve long wished Medium would support RSS but email is…alright, though obviously a less efficient option. The site is at least finally acknowledging that off-site distribution is a good idea.