If you're a frequent Google Reader user, you know full well that user comments on blog posts do not come along for the ride. On some blog feeds, it can tell you how many user comments there are, but on others, you typically have to visit the post to know.
A new solution called GReactions has attempted to fix this by slurping up comments from around the Web that are related to the post you're looking at. When it works, it's a seamless experience.
The Firefox extension is powered by Context Voice, which does the dirty work. This service tracks related conversation in places like Twitter, Digg, Reddit, WordPress blogs, and FriendFeed. It then clumps together those bits of conversation it picks up, and orders them chronologically.
To help sort through this mess, the tool lets you filter by source. You're also given a time line, which breaks down when each comment or mention is from.
GReactions sucks in comments from a variety of sources. Here it's grabbing them from Twitter, WordPress and FriendFeed.
(Credit: CNET)In my brief testing with it installed, it was most useful with older content that had been given a chance to be passed around the Web. Newer items, especially from niche blogs, had no related discussion.
For heavy Google Reader users, this is an extension that's definitely worth installing. It doesn't actually do any of its magic until you hit the "comments" button that's added to the Google Reader interface when installed. This means it's not going to slow down the initial load of your feed, or interfere with things like Gears.
Google continues to run its own internetwork comment system on top of blog posts, which can only be seen by other Google Reader users. So short of visiting each site to see what other users are talking about, this is the next best way to quickly eyeball user discussion.
Universal comment add-on system Disqus is the latest company to pledge allegiance to Facebook's Connect platform. Users will soon be able log in to comment on Disqus-powered blog posts with their Facebook ID. Meanwhile these comments can be pushed back to the user's Facebook news feed, completing the circle.
This is a big deal for blog owners who may feel a little finicky about going through with a full Facebook Connect install on their blog. Considering the main point of registration often comes when users want to dip into a discussion this was the next logical step for any third-party comment tool. Better yet, the commenter, who is spending time on their blog and getting involved in the conversation is beaming this back to Facebook where others may find the post and chime in as well.
Facebook Connect log-ins are not turned on by default. Blog owners must first acquire an API key from Facebook and toggle it on, alongside other optional Disqus add-ons like Seesmic video comments. Disqus co-founder Daniel Ha says blog owners should see it activated on their blogs by the end of the month.
The change may be a little bittersweet for Disqus, which had effectively created its own universal profile system. The good to come out of this is that a greater number of users are likely to sign up for the service since they're now able to do so with their existing Facebook log-in.
Related: Facebook Connect officially open
Disqus admins will find a new option in the settings menu that lets them hook up to Facebook Connect via API key.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
coComment, the universal comment community, is opening up its doors to everyone today on Monday, along with a fresh new look and a handful of tweaks and new features. I originally took a look at the comment service in early May, and came away impressed. The basic idea is that comments for things like blog posts, YouTube videos, and Web sites become centralized and available to everyone. Once users buy into the system by registering and installing an extension in their browser, they're able to comment on any page they'd like and keep track of what others are commenting on. If you've read up on Me.dium [Me.dium review here], the idea is somewhat similar.
Among some of the tweaks to the user interface is a new sidebar that lets you browse what your friends have commented on, viewed through a two-pane interface. It feels a little bit like browsing through your e-mail in-box (if you're familiar with Outlook). coComment is also throwing its hat in as a social bookmarking service of sorts, letting users share pages they're visiting, regardless of whether they have started or become engaged in conversations. Users can share in one of three ways, either to individuals, groups, or what coComment calls the "social Web"--a listing of over a dozen social bookmarking and sharing sites including Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us and Twitter.
coComment is working on a Facebook app that should be ready in the next couple of months. When I asked coComment's CEO Matt Colebourne about any future plans of adding instant messaging to the service, he noted that the asynchronous nature of commenting works well without the need for instantaneous response, and that coComment's speed is more than enough for two or more users to converse quite quickly.
Update: We just got word the launch is being pushed to Monday, due to an issue with Internet Explorer.
Related: Zpeech, co.mments, myComments.
coComment can be very useful on sites like Amazon.com, where discussion is separated. Using coComment, you can take the discussion with you from page to page.
(Credit: CNET Networks)
CoComment is an interesting service that helps you monitor comment threads on blogs and Web sites. The service does two big things. One is letting you subscribe to any post's comments, regardless of whether the site in question offers notification of replies. The second element is scraping comments from threads you've replied to, so you can monitor and access the responses for multiple sites in one centralized location. If you're a frequent commenter on several different blogs or sites, this could be a worthwhile service for you.
In order to see if a page you're on has an active coComment discussion, you need to install a small Firefox extension. Alternately, there's a bookmarklet for other popular browsers such as IE and Opera. The key benefit in using the coComment extension is that it will automatically link your on-site comment with your watched comment threads. You need simply click the coComment button, and the service will give you the option keep track of the conversation, add tags, and mirror the thread to your watch list.
When browsing, the plug-in will change colors from blue to orange on any page you're on to let you know a coComment thread on the site or post already exists. Like the bookmarklet, when you click the plug-in button, you'll get the option to follow a thread or comment through coComment, instead of via the site's comment engine. This is one aspect that I don't like, since it's taking potential discussion off the site's built-in discussion. At the same time, for sites without the option to comment, coComment can add this functionality.
In any comment box on any site, you can track and tag your post and keep tabs on thread activity.
To keep track of what others are commenting on, registered members can become friends. Users can see who has subscribed to their conversation feeds, as well as see other coComment users who have responded to the same threads. Each user also gets their own comment and subscriber count, which acts as a general way to tell how much clout or interaction coComment users have.
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