Between Netvibes, Pageflakes, and Google Reader most people are probably pretty squared away when it comes to picking their news snippets in an orderly fashion. Then there's those pesky metagator sites, such as Original Signal, and Popurls that pick out the sites for you. It's the editorial side of the game that still has some art to it. Not to be left out, Guy Kawaski (creator of Truemors) has entered the fray this morning with Alltop.
The site shares a lot in common with Popurls (from which it was inspired), forgoing a few sites in each category to list as much as possible on a single page (up to 30 different sites in some cases). There are nine categories to choose from, including politics, science, gaming, and my personal favorite "egos" which includes the likes of Robert Scoble, Fake Steve Jobs, and Gawker Media's Nick Denton. Notably missing is any sort of technology or Web 2.0 section, a move I applaud since clearly we've already got a pair of those that do the job just fine.
There are no ads on any of the Alltop pages (yet), however, from the site's FAQ it looks like they're on the way soon. Users are also encouraged to send in their own topics and favorite sites, which can and will be reordered later on using user voting.
I'm definitely bookmarking Alltop for the growing catalog of categories and sites. Although like Rafe, I'm pretty used to using Netvibes to keep track of my favorite feeds. Your mileage may vary, but give it a look.
[via Brian Solis over at bub.bilicio.us--one of the featured egos on Alltop]
2/11 Update: There are now 12 categories, including a "tech" one, although it simply links to PopUrls.com.
Tired of Web 2.0 stuff? Alltop's got you covered with several other categories like celebrity gossip (we know you secretly read TMZ--it's okay, we're not judging you.)
(Credit: CNET Networks)
My favorite start page, Netvibes, is getting an interesting upgrade. The new "Ginger" version gets social features for sharing your start-page widgets and layouts, as well as a status feed reminiscent of Facebook and Twitter. Netvibes Ginger also makes it easier to add content to your pages.
The site will be updated with the Ginger release in mid-February, but we have some invitations to the private beta now...read down to the end for details.
Still my favorite start page.
With Ginger, all Netvibes users get a "universe" page--a public, shared collection of widgets and tabs that anyone can access. Here's a quick example. It's easy enough to send items from your private pages to your universe, and if you want to point people your favorite widgets or blogs, it's a simple solution. If you happen to have an online presence on several different service (for example, a professional blog, a personal blog, a social network, Delicious, Twitter, etc.), this is a way to put them all together so your friends can see what you are up to.
Now you can create a ticker of your Netvibes actions. You can see your buddies' feeds, too.
With Netvibes new "activity" window, you can now see what your friends are up to...on Netvibes, anyway. When you're in a widget on Netvibes, you can flag an item to save it to either your private or your public feed, and in the activities window you can see either your own private starred items, your public ones, or those of the people you are following. (Unfortunately, you can't see all these activities together in one window, and you can't flag an item from its detail page, only from its headline in the widget.)
The concept of following other users on Netvibes is a conceptual stretch. While it's easy enough to find other Netvibes users and add them to your Netvibes circle, one has to wonder if this bare-bones social network can possibly get traction. Netvibes Tariq Krim told me, "We wouldn't do it if we didn't add value." So, he said, "We will announce plug-ins so it can automatically sync with Twitter, Facebook, and so on."
Adding feeds and widgets in Ginger is easier thanks to a good visual directory and search function.
Maybe that will help. Krim is trying to make Netvibes into a hub for social information. If it works without requiring that your friends are also Netvibes users, it could be useful. But if it's just the Netvibes social network, I predict rather limited uptake.
Evolutionary changes in Netvibes include a better way to add content to your pages. There's a very attractive catalog of widgets you can add, and you can preview each one before you drop it on a page.
As a current Netvibes user, I like the new interface but I can't say that any of the new features bowl me over. The new methods for adding content are nice, though, and will make the service more approachable for newbies.
But the social bits are puzzling. I've never thought of Netvibes as a social platform. I don't really want it to be social. I get enough social in all the other sites I use.
I could be wrong, though. If you sign up for the Netvibes Ginger private beta, add me to your network (search for "rafe"), and we can see if we like it. Update: Webware users burned through our first allotment of invitations to the Ginger private beta very quickly, but there are 100 more invitations available here--use the new code WWMORE100.
Pageflakes has just updated their service this morning with a handful of new features. The company is calling this latest release "Blizzard." Users now get their own profile page and can link up with other Pageflakes users as friends. They can also browse through users by interest, based on items they've put together on their customized Pagecasts. The goal is to make the service feel like less of a solitary experience and make it easier to share user-created Pagecasts.
Also new is the option to completely customize a page. There are themes and simple color arrangements for users to pick from, and a tool to create your own. In the same vein, there are now media pages from third-party content providers and sponsors, nearly identical to what competitor Netvibes rolled out with their Universes feature in mid-April. Pageflakes is launching this feature with themed content pages from CNN, AOL, Rolling Stone, and the Washington Post, among others.
To help users find content to add to their pages, Pageflakes has also redone their widget gallery, which they call "flakes." There are about a quarter of a million widgets, which is about twice that of Netvibes.
The Blizzard release also opens up the door to users of Apple's Safari browser, who up until now have been unable to access the site. However, there's no news on whether an iPhone-friendly version of the start page service is in the works. To see more shots of the new features, click the read more link below.
Previous Pageflakes coverage:
Pageflakes community gets traction
Roundup: single page aggregators
Pageflakes CEO wants to take on Yahoo
Start here: Pageflakes meets the metagators
Pageflakes now has partnered sites with sponsored content. In this case it's news and stories from the Washington Post.
(Credit: Pageflakes.com)... Read more
Netvibes, maker of the single-page aggregator (or metagator) that I favor, is making an aggressive announcement at the Web 2.0 Expo. The company is launching the "Netvibes Universes" project. It's a simple technical improvement to the current service, but it's a bit of a business coup.
Netvibes Universes allows content creators to create custom Netvibes aggregation pages. What's technically new is that content owners can now customize the look and feel of their pages, and publish them as standalone Web pages with semifriendly URLs (for example: www.netvibes.com/icecube). Fully friendly URLS--in other words, custom Web addresses--will come later.
The business coup is that Netvibes signed up over 100 publishing partners, including recording artists like Mandy Moore and 50 Cent, and major media like Time, USA Today, and The Washington Post. All their Netvibes pages will be available on Monday.
It's hard to say if the Universes pages be better than their publishers' own home pages. They are different. A custom-designed home page can really stand out, but with more people finding content through "side doors" like blog posts, Digg, and aggregators like Netvibes, the front pages of content sites matter less than they used to. It makes sense, then, for some publishers to use off-the-shelf services like Universes to publish front pages that are almost as attractive, and far easier to modify, than all the individually coded front pages that sites now support.
Time magazine's current home page
(Credit: Time)Netvibes told me that it will make the Universes functionality available to all its users by June. At the moment, it's possible for ordinary Netvibes users to share a Netvibes page only with other users, and you can't customize the page nor specify a standalone URL for it.
In related news, Netvibes competitor Pageflakes is releasing its Flurry feature at Web 2.0 Expo. By interviewing you about your location and your interests, this update makes it even easier to get started with the service. I interviewed Pageflakes CEO Dan Cohen in February. It's a great product--I'd use it if I wasn't already hooked on Netvibes.
Both Netvibes and Pageflakes make better start pages than the majors (Yahoo, Microsoft, and Google), although in the long run that won't matter because the big guys can easily grab the lion's share of traffic. For that reason I think Netvibes' direction is very smart. Instead of focusing on making a better product for individuals, the company is now embarking on a business-to-business strategy, too, and hopes to reach new users not only directly, but through its business clients.
Read on for more preview screenshots from Netvibes.
... Read more
The president of CEO of TauMed.com, Tauseef Bashir, attributes this extra depth to a proprietary search engine, which finds articles by theme, not just those with matching keyword tags. When I tried the phrase "birth control," I found that related articles from different parts of the site (news, health tips, blogs) appeared. Nothing irrelevant was placed on the first page of search results, whereas on Google-powered WebMD, the second item listed was only loosely connected to the search term.
Several other features of TauMed are promising. One of the newly added features is "My Health Space." This function lets members create a personal Web site containing links to articles, TauMed support groups and doctors. "My Health Share" is a blog-style forum where users can sound off on a host of health topics. Both functions are aimed at building a solid community of users and medical professionals.
I found that most of the blog-style forum's posts are answered by other TauMed members. This may be good for light issues ("Does pulling my hair in a ponytail too tight cause headaches?"), but less useful or even dangerous for serious medical concerns. While I would like to see the editorial board step in as experts and not just hidden moderators, Bashir's intention with the blog community is to create a comfortable environment for discussion, not necessarily diagnosis.
The site could be helpful for patients researching ongoing conditions because of the bookmarking capabilities on "My Health Space." If I want to research diabetes, for example, I could easily create a full library with credible resources and connect to a community around the topic. While TauMed is off to a good start, I'm uncertain of how comfortable users will be sharing their medical woes in a social-networking setting, without the promise of receiving a doctor's expert advice.
Single page aggregators, also known as personalized home pages, can be a helpful way to keep tabs on your favorite Web content without having to visit each site. With nearly all of them able to display content from popular Web sites, choosing one comes down personal taste. We've run down some of the most popular aggregators, citing what works and what doesn't.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
My.Netscape relaunched today, providing users with an Ajax-driven drag-and-drop interface to add and customize newsfeeds. There are about a hundred premade feeds to choose from. If you want to add a site that's not on there, you can plug in the site's RSS feed. See also Google Personalized Home Page and My Yahoo, which offer nearly identical functionality.
What works: No ads, quick loading content modules, simple to use.
What doesn't: A limited selection of add-ons, lack of visual customization.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
YourMinis is a page aggregator that feels a little bit like Mac OS X's Dashboard with tons of customizable widgets that are both beautiful and useful. YourMinis lets you create several different pages full of content, which can be navigated using tabs or by viewing each page in a live thumbnail preview. You can also share your customized page with other people, who can then rank and comment on it. Previous coverage here.
What works: Gorgeous design, easy to use, tons of widgets to choose from.
What doesn't: The pretty widgets can't be popped out on the desktop.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Netvibes is the most popular single page aggregator. With its popularity comes easy availability of modules for any site you're likely to be looking for. Like YourMinis, the look of your Netvibes page can be fully customized, even down to how wide you want each column of modules to be.
What works: A large catalog of sites to choose from, simple and slick design.
What doesn't: Sometimes slow to load.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Pageflakes provides similar functionality to Netvibes and YourMinis, but places more emphasis on community-created pages. These are pages with preset modules that can be added as new tabs on your Pageflakes interface. They provide similar utility to what you would get using meta-aggregator sites like Original Signal and Popurls. Watch our interview with Pageflakes CEO Dan Cohen here.
What works: Fast-loading and dead simple to use.
What doesn't: Some of the community content could be sorted better. Foreign language items are mixed, and there's not a way to browse by genre, which can lead to confusion.
Yesterday I had a chance to sit down with Pageflakes' new CEO, Dan Cohen. Pageflakes makes a "single page aggregator" service. It's a good site to use as your home page. You can add RSS feeds, widgets, and all sorts of content to the page, and you can set up multiple tabs on your site for different categories of content. [See previous Webware coverage.]
Pageflakes' special power is its community focus. You can easily share your page layouts with other people and even let them modify your pages. Cohen sees Pageflakes as a good service for groups or clubs: people can collect resources from the around the Web to make them available to all their members. Not a bad idea.
Can a small site like Pageflakes compete against Yahoo's configurable home page, My Yahoo (or Google, AOL, or Microsoft)? Cohen admitted that the number of users on his service is quite low. He also said his other upstart competitors (NetVibes, YourMinis, etc) aren't doing much better. But he said his work experience at Google and Yahoo has given him insight into what works and doesn't. And, he believes Pageflakes benefits from being a smaller company. Due to his company's focus and nimbleness, he said, he can build a better mousetrap, and do it faster. One thing he'll never be able to fight is Yahoo's marketing reach, though.
If you want more than what the big sites' start pages offer, Pageflakes is worth checking out. I use its competitor, NetVibes, and I really like it, but they function similarly. Both have a lot of fancy modules you can put on your pages, but I just use them to read my RSS feeds. There is one key difference: Pageflakes loads more quickly.
Play the video for more.
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