Create your own magazine and do it yourself

In his latest article, ‘rethinking weblogging’, Bruce Eckel gives a nice illustration of what newsreader/aggregator software allows you to do.

The fascinating effect of newsreader software is that it allows each individual to create their own magazine, filled with their own favorite columnists. This was predicted by futurists, but those predictions were inevitably a vision of some central newspaper-like authority assembling and delivering your customized paper to you. We have been so conditioned to think in terms of Big Authority Figures that the concept of assemble-your-own directly from the producer didn’t occur to anyone until after it already happened. In hindsight, it’s obvious: it’s not only the cheapest approach, but also the most flexible and open, and serves the consumer best.

I will use this the next time I try to explain RSS, syndication feeds and aggregator/newsreader software.