Dave Winer

Dave Winer – Life, Career, and Famous Quotes

Discover the life and work of Dave Winer (born May 2, 1955)—American software developer, blogging and podcasting pioneer, inventor of RSS and outliners. Explore his biography, achievements, legacy, and notable quotes.

Introduction

Dave Winer (born May 2, 1955) is a prominent American software developer, entrepreneur, and writer. Over decades, Winer has blended technical innovation and open thinking with outspoken commentary on technology, publishing, and the open web.

Though sometimes referred to as a “scientist” in looser terms (because of his pioneering technical work), his domain is more accurately software engineering, web architecture, and publishing systems.

Early Life and Family

Dave Winer was born in Queens, New York City, on May 2, 1955.

He attended The Bronx High School of Science, graduating in 1972.

Youth and Education

Winer pursued higher education in mathematics and computer science:

• He earned a BA in Mathematics from Tulane University in 1976.

• He then obtained an MS in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1978.

During his graduate studies and early professional years, he started experimenting with software tools for organizing, outlining, and information structure — laying groundwork for later innovations in outliners and content tools.

Career and Achievements

The Outliner Era & Living Videotext

One of Winer’s earliest and most influential contributions was his work on outliner software — tools that allow hierarchical organization of text, ideas, or topics in “expand/collapse” form.

In 1979, while working at Personal Software (also known as VisiCorp), Winer explored his own idea called VisiText, an early prototype for “expand/collapse” outlines.

In 1981 he left to found Living Videotext, a company that would commercialize outliner technology. ThinkTank, was released for Apple II and later ported to IBM PC and Macintosh.

Later, Winer and his team developed MORE (1986), a more advanced outliner for the Macintosh that combined outlining, formatting, and presentation features.

At its peak, Living Videotext employed around fifty people. Symantec.

Web Publishing, Blogging & Syndication

After his outliner successes, Winer turned toward web publishing and online content systems. In 1988, he founded UserLand Software, where he served as CEO through 2002.

One of his signature products was Frontier, a scripting and publishing environment combining an outliner-based approach with web content management.

Winer became deeply invested in the evolution of weblogs (blogs). His Scripting News weblog, launched in February 1997, is among the oldest blogs still active.

To enable content syndication across sites, Winer championed RSS (Really Simple Syndication), particularly the branch known as RSS 2.0, which he helped evolve. OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) for exchanging outlines and lists of RSS feeds.

Winer’s advocacy and technical contributions made RSS and OPML key building blocks in how content, news, podcasts, and web feeds are distributed.

Podcasting & Audio in RSS

Winer is often credited with helping invent or popularize the podcasting model. Around 2000–2001, he added support for “enclosures” in RSS — a way to embed links to media files (e.g. audio) in feed items.

He also ran a podcast, Morning Coffee Notes, and collaborated on Rebooting the News, a podcast and discussion project about journalism and technology.

Later Ventures & Ongoing Influence

After stepping down from CEO of UserLand (following bypass surgery in 2002)

In 2012, he co-founded Small Picture, Inc. to build new outlining tools like Little Outliner and Fargo.

He has also held academic and research fellow roles:

• Research fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center (working on blogs in education)

• Visiting scholar at NYU’s Journalism Institute

His commentary and technical thinking continue to influence debates about the open web, decentralization, and content platforms.

Historical & Technological Context

• Winer’s early work in the 1980s coincided with personal computing’s rise and the need for new productivity tools (e.g. outliners) to handle complexity.

• The Web (1990s onward) opened opportunities for new publishing models — Winer was among those translating traditional notions of writing, journalism, and content into web-native forms.

• The proliferation of RSS, blogging, and podcasting in the 2000s reshaped how audiences consume media—Winer’s ideas and tools were central to that shift.

• In an era where big platforms dominate content distribution (e.g. social media, streaming), Winer often argues for restoring more user power and open protocols.

Legacy and Influence

Dave Winer’s impact spans both technical architecture and cultural practice:

1. Foundational tools for blogging and syndication: RSS, OPML, and blog software owe much to his early work.

2. Champion of the open web: He has long advocated for decentralization, user control, and resisting platform lock-in.

3. Bridging technical and publishing worlds: Winer is a rare figure who builds infrastructure and writes as practitioner and critic.

4. Inspiring new generations: Many modern publishing platforms, aggregators, and podcast architectures trace roots to his protocols.

5. Voice in tech policy and culture: His commentary continues to provoke reflection on where the web is going and how we preserve openness.

Personality, Philosophy, and Strengths

• Winer writes candidly, often provocatively, weaving technical insight, personal conviction, and polemic.

• He emphasizes simplicity, user empowerment, and extensibility in software — resisting unnecessary complexity or closed systems.

• He is persistent: pushing small improvements, defending open standards, and contributing for decades.

• He is combative at times (e.g. critiques of platforms or vendors) but grounded in deep technical experience.

• He often frames the web as a domain for storytelling, expression, and individual voice as much as for infrastructure.

Famous Quotes of Dave Winer

Here are several notable quotes attributed to Winer:

“To create a usable piece of software, you have to fight for every fix, every feature, every little accommodation that will get one more person up the curve. There are no shortcuts.”

“You get the software you pay for. In every sense. To the nth degree. That’s the way the world works.”

“The easier you make it for people to go, the more likely they are to stay.”

“If you need the approval of the platform vendor to ship an app, then it isn’t a platform.”

“I looked up ‘standard’ in the dictionary. There are eleven different definitions.”

“There were no PCs when I started programming on computers.”

These quotes reflect his mindset around software, standards, openness, and making systems work for people.

Lessons from Dave Winer

From his life and work, we can draw a number of insights:

• Build the plumbing, not just the apps: Protocols, formats, and infrastructure often have long-term impact.

• Small improvements matter: Winer’s emphasis on incremental fixes and usability reflects that deep change often accumulates through many small steps.

• Defend openness: Reliance on closed platforms can undermine autonomy; open standards help preserve agency.

• Be both maker and critic: Winer’s ability to build tools and critique their ecosystem is a powerful mode of influence.

• Perseverance pays: His decades-long commitment shows that innovation is rarely one big leap; it’s often sustained work.

• Let technical vision guide values: He integrates philosophical views (freedom, sharing, decentralization) into his engineering approach.

Conclusion

Dave Winer is a pivotal figure in how we publish, share, and consume digital content. His early innovations in outliners shaped tools for thought; his work with RSS, OPML, and blogging helped build the modern ecosystem of content syndication and podcasting. More than a technologist, he is a thinker and provocateur who challenges how we build and govern our digital spaces.