People and resources added to my reading list in 2022

My, my — time really flies. It’s been ten years since I started writing, every January, a recap of the most notable discoveries and additions to my bookmarks and feeds made during the previous year. But it’s never really been just a list of resources to read, as over time I’ve added podcasts, YouTube channels, and useful Web-based tools among other things.

In this series of articles I’ve also talked about how I manage my RSS feeds, and which apps I prefer using on which devices. I’ve also shared my observations and criticism regarding content in general, trends that annoy me, and even why I removed people and sources I used to read and recommend.

2022: A year of negligible changes overall

When I’m preparing a new post for this series, I always carefully re-read the one I wrote the previous year, mostly to check whether I noticed significant changes in what I’ve found online or differences in content delivery trends, etc., compared to the previous year(s). Well, I found that very little has changed. If you go back and read People and resources added to my reading list in 2021, the general observations I wrote in the sections Blogs: the Cinderella of current media and Tech blogs are still valid.

Once again, when it comes to blogs and RSS, the old ‘trend in two movements’ made its appearance: I’m talking about the Blogs (and RSS) are dead / NO, blogs (and RSS) are NOT dead trend, of course. It usually goes like this:

Someone, usually writing for a big tech website, publishes an article about blogs and RSS feeds being a dying breed.
Someone else — usually someone with a personal blog or website, and usually prominent enough to be quoted by other bloggers — reacts by writing another piece either saying, No, blogs are very much alive, and cool and still the best way to create meaningful debate nowadays, or, Yes, blogs are an endangered species: we should really bring back blogs and personal sites because they’re the best way to create meaningful debate nowadays.
Other, usually minor figures, pick up on this reaction article, and go updating their long-neglected blogs, or even start new ones. They write a few posts over the course of a few months, to then neglect their blogs once again.

Tech blogs

Like I wrote last year, I don’t know whether blogs are ‘dead’ or not, but it’s certainly harder for me to find consistently good and well-written tech blogs. I know that relying on tried-and-trusted sources I’ve been following and reading for years may result in a perspective bubble or echo chamber. I’m always reading tech news with an open mind, and a tool like Flipboard is rather helpful for discovering potentially interesting new voices. But more often than I’d like, what I end up finding are occasional gold nuggets in enormous piles of coal. Great articles that make me want to look up the author in search for a more consistent and structured output, only to find very little. Maybe another good article written for the same tech site several months prior, or personal blogs (or personal aggregations of materials via sites like Medium or Substack) which — you guessed it — have been lying neglected for a long while.

Anyway, there have been a couple of additions in my RSS feeds in the tech-oriented department. Neither are entirely new sources to me, because in both cases I was already reading them occasionally, but last year I decided to make it official and add them to my reading list.

Jeff Johnson’s The Desolation of Blog. Jeff belongs to that unique breed of long-time Mac developer that still knows how to develop properly for the Mac platform and still remembers how human interface guidelines are supposed to work. If you discovered him only recently, you may know him for a series of excellent Safari extensions like StopTheMadness or Tweaks for Twitter, but his full résumé on his website’s main page should give you a better idea of where he comes from. Consequently, you may find his articles to be of a more technical nature than other, more general tech blogs, but hey, you may end up learning a thing or two.
Josh Ginter’s The Newsprint. Like with Chris Hannah last year, I have to thank Mike Rockwell for making me discover Josh’s blog. I first noticed The Newsprint in 2021, bookmarked it, and kept it on my radar for a while, then I happily put it in my feeds last year. What I like about The Newsprint is that it features a variety of subjects which, unlike many other blogs, aren’t treated superficially. Josh strikes me as the kind of tech-oriented writer who may be too busy to update his blog every other day, but when he does, he means it — he picks a specific thing and takes a deep dive in it. And I love that.

YouTube channels

During 2022 I kept discovering interesting stuff on YouTube, but I also tried to contain the ‘subscription creep’. YouTube, thanks to its uncanny algorithm, quickly develops a snowball effect. You keep discovering cool channels, maybe you watch three or four videos to make sure you like the channel, you subscribe, and soon you find yourself managing dozens of subscriptions. Meanwhile, your home page gets constantly filled with content you love (because it comes from the dozens of channels you’re subscribed to, plus from other channels you’re very likely to love because they’re adjacent to content you already indicated as content you love) and the end result is an unmanageable chaos of stuff you’re interested in, but in order to keep up with it you’d have to spend the whole day watching YouTube.

It’s a perverse mechanism that can become a nasty addiction before you even realise it. Luckily I realised it before it was too late, and started limiting the time allotted to watching videos during the day, and I also started to weed out all those subscriptions I impulsively added in the past, keeping only those that are truly worth visiting on a frequent basis.

For these reasons, I didn’t add many new channels in 2022. That said, there have been some interesting discoveries.

Photography

The problem with mainstream photography channels on YouTube is that their creators are often influencers sponsored by different photography brands, and their content is mainly about gear. Which means that their reviews are seldom truly objective, and that they’re constantly focused on the latest and greatest gear. As a consequence, their channels are more useful to the creators themselves, to camera manufacturers, and to photographic gear companies. What the audience may find useful is that these channels keep you quite up-to-date with the latest photography products and specs.

I believe such channels are generally a negative influence on novice and amateur photographers, because they give the false impression that photography is all about ‘the right gear’ — megapixels, autofocus speed, lens sharpness, and so forth. While these may be crucial factors, especially in commercial photography, they’re not the be-all and end-all of photography as an art form.

That’s why I’ve been seeking channels that talk about photography in more general and more insightful terms, produced by people whose real interest is to teach and impart wisdom to their audience, not selling sponsored gear. And I’ve found some of them — typically professional, experienced photographers who make money with their work and not via YouTube or affiliate links. This certainly makes for more disinterested advice on their part.

Martin Castein — What I love about Martin is that in his videos he goes straight to the point with a healthy injection of common sense no matter the subject. (By the way, this is also the common denominator of all the photographers I’m recommending here). He can show you how to obtain amazing results, whether it’s landscape or portrait photography, by using even older professional cameras like the Canon 5D and 6D Mark I. Or he can present a particular photo he took and explain the process that went through behind the scenes. His videos are never too long, and he definitely doesn’t waste your time. And whatever the subject, I feel that I always learn something new at the end of his videos.
Peter Coulson — The majority of Peter’s videos are about him working in his studio on a particular shoot. If you’re interested in learning how to shoot models in a studio (but also outdoors), how to work with light, and so forth, you’ll enjoy his channel. He makes everything look so effortless. The kind of photography I do (mostly street photography in urban environments, and some landscape photography) is completely different, but Peter’s way of working with studio lights and natural light is fascinating to me nonetheless; sometimes the tricks and techniques behind a studio portrait are way simpler than the final result may lead you to believe.
Fil Nenna — A recent discovery, but a channel worth keeping an eye on. Fil produces well-made videos, short and to-the-point, about a variety of photography topics; he may discuss general themes or provide specific tips, tricks, and pieces of invaluable advice. I like his friendly, direct demeanour.
Dee Rosa — Another recent discovery, Dee is a very frank and outspoken professional who’s not afraid to share his opinions on a photography topic, even if (especially when) they’re unpopular. I like his approach because he’s another who’s bullshit-averse, a bit like yours truly.
Jonathan Harris — Jonathan’s channel is a bit different. He is a camera expert and his videos are specifically about gear, and especially about professional film gear. But he doesn’t really do camera reviews — they’re more like camera overviews, and are very useful to people looking to buy that kind of gear because he explains how those cameras work, and the particular points to check during inspection to ensure you’re purchasing a good unit in working condition. His videos are generally short, very specific, and quite useful.

Technology

Laptop Retrospective — This is a fantastic channel if you’re a fan of IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads like I am. I actually discovered this channel before 2022, while I was browsing YouTube in search of reviews and more information about a couple of vintage ThinkPads I was interested in acquiring. After finding what I was looking for, I thought I was done with it; instead I’ve been returning to the channel on a regular basis. I like the host’s calm demeanour and witty humour, and I like that every laptop review (they’re not all ThinkPads, by the way) follows a specific format. It usually begins with a brief history of the machine, then a listing of its specs in all the known variants, then an overview of the ports and connections, then a disassembly to inspect the machine’s innards and see what’s upgradable, and finally the machine is turned on and explored further, with some closing observations. But if you’re specifically interested in the design of ThinkPads, there are several videos just about that, a series called Think Design, where the host also chats with key figures responsible for the ThinkPad’s design over the years.

Gaming

The Librarian — Now, here’s a channel that surprised me for the quality of the commentary. The host is especially interested in talking about themes surrounding horror, dreams, perception, and the mixture of what he calls “creepy & comfy” elements (in general, but also in games specifically). His videos aren’t all about games or game playthroughs. Sometimes he’ll read creepypasta and other stories with creepy content; sometimes he’ll upload a video of a recent urban exploration trip. I found his channel because I was looking for information on custom game maps developed for Garry’s Mod (GMOD), a historic and popular sandbox based on the Source game engine developed by Valve. And in fact, a recurring feature on The Librarian’s channel is his explorations of GMOD’s maps but in VR. Anyway, you don’t follow this channel to watch just another guy doing a ‘let’s play’ of a game. You follow this channel to enjoy someone articulately dissecting a game, talking at length about what makes a certain game or map work (and what doesn’t). The host’s personality is captivating, and I think the experience is like those books you can’t put down once they click with you.

Other

After many years enjoying the occasional video that came recommended online or by a friend, and now that he has returned to his beloved New York City, I thought it was time to finally subscribe to Casey Neistat’s channel. You may love the guy, you may hate him. I happen to love him and there’s always some detail in his videos that fills me with awe and amazement. I’m not a filmmaker, I’m a writer, but Casey is great at something that serves both worlds — storytelling.
And you know who else is good at storytelling? Casey’s brother, Van Neistat. Van has a different personality, though, and in his videos what captivates me more is the exploration of what it means to be an artist and a maker. Van’s videos are thought-provoking and (to me) give off a sort of Beat Generation vibe that I love so much.
Emma Thorne — I think it’s best if I introduce her using her words in the channel’s About page: I am just a little duck trying my best. High energy silliness combined with British snark. Taking on religion, LGBTQ+ rights and conspiracy theories. Emma is a lovely, intelligent, articulate host who hates bullshit and has the guts to watch channels filled with such idiotic notions shared by dangerously ignorant and bigoted people, so that she can react, dissect, and discuss what’s wrong with them and why. Over time, I’ve been getting increasingly impatient and annoyed by YouTube creators uploading unnecessarily long videos just to make a point or talk about a particular thing; but I’d happily listen to Emma for hours. Her humour, wittiness, and personality always make for an entertaining watch. Oh, she also has a gaming channel.

Podcasts

Still nothing to see here. I think it’s worth repeating what I wrote last year:

In 2019 I unsubscribed from all the podcasts I was following, and I haven’t looked back. I know and respect many people who use podcasts as their main medium for expression. My moving away from podcasts is simply a pragmatic decision — I just don’t have the time for everything. I still listen to the odd episode, especially if it comes recommended by people I trust. You can find a more articulate observation on podcasts in my People and resources added to my reading list in 2019.

Useful/fun Web tools

I wish I could offer more, but last year was busy and chaotic, and I had little time to explore the Web looking for cool stuff. You’re welcome to contact me with your suggestions, though!

The usual disclaimer: single-purpose sites like these may stop working or being maintained without warning. At the time of writing, they all work.

Unicode Character Table — Just what it says on the tin. I found this site because I needed a quick tool to search for Unicode codes for specific entities, and I wasn’t using one of my Macs (on the Mac I love the UnicodeChecker app — check it out, it’s available for any Mac OS version since 10.0).
Literature clock — developed by Johannes Enevoldsen, it’s a word clock using time quotes from literature, based on work and idea by Jaap Meijers.

My RSS management

Again, nothing new to report on this front. The apps I’ve been using (and loving) on my several different devices are still the same, and I haven’t found better RSS management tools worth switching to. Here’s a brief rundown of the apps I’m still using:

On my Intel Macs running Mac OS 10.13 High Sierra: Reeder and ReadKit.
On my 13-inch retina MacBook Pro running Mac OS 11 Big Sur: NetNewsWire.
On my PowerPC Macs: older versions of NetNewsWire.
On my iPad 8: Unread, Reeder, NetNewsWire for iOS, and ReadKit.
On my iPhone SE 3, iPhone 8, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 5s, iPhone 5, iPad 3: Unread. (Though on the iPad 3 Reeder seems to be more stable and less resource-hungry).
On older iOS devices: Older versions of Reeder, and an older version of Byline.
On my first-generation iPad: an older version of Newsify, Slow Feeds (which is now called Web Subscriber), and the Feedly app itself.
On my ThinkPad T400 and ThinkPad X240 (with Windows 8.1 Pro and Windows 10 respectively): Nextgen Reader doesn’t seem to work anymore, so I switched to FeedLab. I’m using FeedLab also on my recently-acquired fifth-generation Surface Pro.
On my ThinkPad X61T with Windows 7, and my ThinkPad 240X running Windows 2000: FeedDemon 4.5. Discontinued in 2013, it still works reasonably well, but of course RSS subscriptions have to be managed manually.
On my Windows Phone 8.1/Windows 10 Mobile smartphones: Nextgen Reader (which curiously seems to be still working fine on mobile) and FeedLab.
On my webOS devices (Palm Prē 2, HP TouchPad): FeedSpider.
On my Android phone (Xiaomi Mi A2): the official Feedly app.

Past articles

In reverse chronological order:

I hope this series and my observations can be useful to you. Also, keep in mind that some links in these past articles may now be broken. And as always, if you think I’m missing out on some good tech writing or other kind of resource you believe might be of interest to me, let me know via email, Twitter, or Mastodon. Thanks for reading!

Riccardo Mori

Writer & Translator