hapaxlegomina

In addition to blogs, RSS is used by podcasts. If you use an app like Spotify, you’re not using RSS, but rather their internal API, which tracks how much of the show you listened to, etc. If you use an RSS based app (overcast is my favorite), you’re often going to be subscribing via an RSS feed.

For podcasting, RSS has advantages and disadvantages. The upside is that it’s about as private as possible. You do show up on someone’s radar when you download episodes, but your podcast player isn’t sending detailed information that can identify you or your listening habits. The disadvantage is mainly for podcasters publishing on RSS: it’s very hard to tell how many listeners you have, and how active they are.

The Electoral College subverts the will of the people by allowing the states/people split you describe. However, fluctuations in voter turnout and the large population of swing voters prevent any consistent election results year over year.

Two dynamics show no signs of letting up: mid-term elections favor the party that isn’t in the White House, and the party not in power (for any given elected office) tends to experience a more motivated base and a friendlier swing vote. These major dynamics, and many smaller ones, produce enough turbulence that the electoral college can’t wholly determine the outcome of every election.