I just switched all my home pages off of TechMeme to FriendFeed.
I find that TechMeme has become a Google News killer. All I see on it is big media companies (including me, who works at Fast Company).
I miss the individual voices and I think that’s really why FriendFeed has gotten my attention.
Well, that and the fact that Google Reader has just been getting more and more unusable lately. This morning I couldn’t even get it to open up. It’s so freaking slow.
Now, at SXSW I met the guy who runs the Google Reader team and he promises major speed improvements “soon.” But right now it’s totally frustrating and FriendFeed is just totally thrilling.
On top of FriendFeed right now are people I don’t know. No A-listers. I’m not there.
That’s thrilling. Why? Because I’m hearing new voices, discovering new blogs, and seeing early adopter behavior in a more pure state. A more “live” state.
It’s exactly what used to thrill me about TechMeme, but then TechMeme needed to move up the stack to try to get a mass-market audience.
Google Reader is being killed by its addition of a social network (which was implemented poorly and is falling apart for someone like me, who likes following hundreds of people).
How about you? Are you changing your reading behavior because of FriendFeed?
Scobleizer 
checking it out. friendfeed seems promising.
LikeLike
checking it out. friendfeed seems promising.
LikeLike
Nope, I like FriendFeed but it isn’t changing my reading habits yet.
LikeLike
Nope, I like FriendFeed but it isn’t changing my reading habits yet.
LikeLike
Still in the evaluation stage of FriendFeed. Hasn’t affected my habits yet.
Will keep updated.
LikeLike
Still in the evaluation stage of FriendFeed. Hasn’t affected my habits yet.
Will keep updated.
LikeLike
That might be better for voracious infovores such as yourself. It serves some people better to “lead” Techmeme more than “follow” Techmeme. And Techmeme may be better for it, depending on what you blog about as a result.
LikeLike
That might be better for voracious infovores such as yourself. It serves some people better to “lead” Techmeme more than “follow” Techmeme. And Techmeme may be better for it, depending on what you blog about as a result.
LikeLike
Yep, I’m spending most of time (among feeds, twitter, etc) on FriendFeed these days. It’s the first place I go when I get online.
LikeLike
Yep, I’m spending most of time (among feeds, twitter, etc) on FriendFeed these days. It’s the first place I go when I get online.
LikeLike
I’m sticking with Netvibes as my homepage. My Friends’ Blogs, posts, tweets et al are great – and believe me – I’m addicted… but I need the news too. Netvibes lets me subscribe to major media feeds. That’s not a bad thing – as you know.
My “Friends'” voices and interests are cool – but I also want the common Zeitgeist, even if it’s being pushed to me by big media companies. Somewhere between major media and the Groundswell, I’m bound to get a little bit savvier. A little bit.
Melanie Notkin
Founder, SavvyAuntie.com
LikeLike
Gabe: don’t get me wrong, I still read TechMeme and find it invaluable. It’s just that it’s totally changed from what thrilled me about it when it first started up. It’s become something else, and that’s just fine. I bet, like you say, most people would rather follow TechMeme than FriendFeed so I bet that when I’m on TechMeme I’ll get a bigger audience. It’s just lost that addictive person-next-door feel to me.
LikeLike
Gabe: don’t get me wrong, I still read TechMeme and find it invaluable. It’s just that it’s totally changed from what thrilled me about it when it first started up. It’s become something else, and that’s just fine. I bet, like you say, most people would rather follow TechMeme than FriendFeed so I bet that when I’m on TechMeme I’ll get a bigger audience. It’s just lost that addictive person-next-door feel to me.
LikeLike
I’m sticking with Netvibes as my homepage. My Friends’ Blogs, posts, tweets et al are great – and believe me – I’m addicted… but I need the news too. Netvibes lets me subscribe to major media feeds. That’s not a bad thing – as you know.
My “Friends'” voices and interests are cool – but I also want the common Zeitgeist, even if it’s being pushed to me by big media companies. Somewhere between major media and the Groundswell, I’m bound to get a little bit savvier. A little bit.
Melanie Notkin
Founder, SavvyAuntie.com
LikeLike
To answer your question, NO. I am not using FriendFeed. I’ve adopted the “One Year Scoble Rule.”
The OYSR is where I let Scoble mess around with all the new hype applications like Facebook and such and if he is still using the product after a year, I’ll look at it.
Scoble’s the best alpha/beta tester I virtually know!!!
LikeLike
To answer your question, NO. I am not using FriendFeed. I’ve adopted the “One Year Scoble Rule.”
The OYSR is where I let Scoble mess around with all the new hype applications like Facebook and such and if he is still using the product after a year, I’ll look at it.
Scoble’s the best alpha/beta tester I virtually know!!!
LikeLike
Herschel: that’s a great rule! I have the Dave Winer rule to add to that. It takes me at least a year to understand what Dave Winer is doing and thinking. 🙂
LikeLike
Google Reader makes me feel guilty all the time — sort of — because I filled it with 100 feeds but then I never read them. Or I skim about 12. I’d actually rather go and type in the URL when I’m in the mood rather than force-feed a feed. It’s slow turning over, yes, but that’s because it has so many feeds it is force-feeding me. I don’t like this tube down my throat.
So a flatter, panoramic less thread/page-suffling view like in alltop.com that Guy Kawasaki has or FriendFeed is easier these days.
Whenever I look at those aggregator sites that are leading to my blog, they are always yolto and netvibes.
LikeLike
YES, I’ve just switched my homepage to Friendfeed. It gives me a look into what’s happening on the Internet. I also have RSS on the top news from BBC and NPR, but I also want a little fun in my day as well.
My friends and the A-listers (via friendfeed.com) offer me a great mix of my daily vitamins that keep me healthy and strong all day long!
LikeLike
YES, I’ve just switched my homepage to Friendfeed. It gives me a look into what’s happening on the Internet. I also have RSS on the top news from BBC and NPR, but I also want a little fun in my day as well.
My friends and the A-listers (via friendfeed.com) offer me a great mix of my daily vitamins that keep me healthy and strong all day long!
LikeLike
Google Reader makes me feel guilty all the time — sort of — because I filled it with 100 feeds but then I never read them. Or I skim about 12. I’d actually rather go and type in the URL when I’m in the mood rather than force-feed a feed. It’s slow turning over, yes, but that’s because it has so many feeds it is force-feeding me. I don’t like this tube down my throat.
So a flatter, panoramic less thread/page-suffling view like in alltop.com that Guy Kawasaki has or FriendFeed is easier these days.
Whenever I look at those aggregator sites that are leading to my blog, they are always yolto and netvibes.
LikeLike
Herschel: that’s a great rule! I have the Dave Winer rule to add to that. It takes me at least a year to understand what Dave Winer is doing and thinking. 🙂
LikeLike
Thanx Herschel, that’s exactly what I do by now. Apart from that fact, what’s the thrill about FriendFeed?
I read a lot about this, but in my view it turns just up the noise?! Is getting everything about someone really what I want?
I share a lot of interests with a lot of people, but I never share ALL interests of anybody…
LikeLike
Prokofy: good point.
LikeLike
Prokofy: good point.
LikeLike
Thanx Herschel, that’s exactly what I do by now. Apart from that fact, what’s the thrill about FriendFeed?
I read a lot about this, but in my view it turns just up the noise?! Is getting everything about someone really what I want?
I share a lot of interests with a lot of people, but I never share ALL interests of anybody…
LikeLike
Jonas: keep in mind that I’m an “infovore.” If you don’t like drinking from a firehose of information, you’ll probably enjoy reading a newspaper, or, if you really are adverse to getting fed a stream of info, watching CNN, or, even worse, remaining totally offline and ignorant of what’s going on.
Me? I love interacting with early adopters and that makes FriendFeed the best on the map right now.
LikeLike
Jonas: keep in mind that I’m an “infovore.” If you don’t like drinking from a firehose of information, you’ll probably enjoy reading a newspaper, or, if you really are adverse to getting fed a stream of info, watching CNN, or, even worse, remaining totally offline and ignorant of what’s going on.
Me? I love interacting with early adopters and that makes FriendFeed the best on the map right now.
LikeLike
Curious. I recently upgraded to Firebox 3.0b4 a week ago. Since then, Google Reader absolutely screams through my 183 feeds.
LikeLike
With that picture in mind, I’d prefer picking the single cocktail-glasses from pages like alltop in addition to the bottles of water I get through my newsreader, which already has more items I’m able to read concentrated 😉
LikeLike
With that picture in mind, I’d prefer picking the single cocktail-glasses from pages like alltop in addition to the bottles of water I get through my newsreader, which already has more items I’m able to read concentrated 😉
LikeLike
Curious. I recently upgraded to Firebox 3.0b4 a week ago. Since then, Google Reader absolutely screams through my 183 feeds.
LikeLike
Andy: I’m using Firefox 3.0b4 on both Mac and Windows and it’s dreadfully slow. But, it’s the friends on Google Reader that’s slowing it down. I have hundreds of friends and hundreds of feeds.
LikeLike
Andy: I’m using Firefox 3.0b4 on both Mac and Windows and it’s dreadfully slow. But, it’s the friends on Google Reader that’s slowing it down. I have hundreds of friends and hundreds of feeds.
LikeLike
I haven’t been in Google Reader this week.
FriendFeed all the way.
LikeLike
I haven’t been in Google Reader this week.
FriendFeed all the way.
LikeLike
It’s changed my behavior but not entirely.
I see to have separated personalities from business. On google reader I still have my more traditional news sources (NYT, Digg, Slashdot, etc) where people have spots in FF either as real feeds or imaginary feeds.
I use google reader to determine what I find important. I use Friendfeed to see what my contacts are doing, what’s important to them and what they they thing about it. 2 different concepts and 2 different apps.
Just my $.02.
LikeLike
It’s changed my behavior but not entirely.
I see to have separated personalities from business. On google reader I still have my more traditional news sources (NYT, Digg, Slashdot, etc) where people have spots in FF either as real feeds or imaginary feeds.
I use google reader to determine what I find important. I use Friendfeed to see what my contacts are doing, what’s important to them and what they they thing about it. 2 different concepts and 2 different apps.
Just my $.02.
LikeLike
Sounds like you just are finding variety as the spice of life. 😀
LikeLike
Sounds like you just are finding variety as the spice of life. 😀
LikeLike
I checked out FriendFeed during the whole “lets all crucify Duncan Riley” week. It’s interesting but I think, if anything, it’s a replacement for Facebook. Facebook’s news page is next to useless at this point with stupid stuff pushing anything interesting out the door way too quickly. FriendFeed is the Facebook Newsfeed without all the stupid games that really don’t say anything about a person.
The biggest problem I see with Friendfeed is that it doesn’t differentiate enough yet. Your link blog posts are only interesting to a fraction of the people who are interested in posts by you. To just throw them all into a river is kind of awkward.
As for Techmeme I really don’t see the comparison from my perspective. Techmeme is an opinion gauge to me. I don’t really care to follow most of the Techmeme sites but when an event happens I’m interested in their take. So to me Techmeme is the polar opposite of friendfeed in that it acts as a gatekeeper for me.
LikeLike
I checked out FriendFeed during the whole “lets all crucify Duncan Riley” week. It’s interesting but I think, if anything, it’s a replacement for Facebook. Facebook’s news page is next to useless at this point with stupid stuff pushing anything interesting out the door way too quickly. FriendFeed is the Facebook Newsfeed without all the stupid games that really don’t say anything about a person.
The biggest problem I see with Friendfeed is that it doesn’t differentiate enough yet. Your link blog posts are only interesting to a fraction of the people who are interested in posts by you. To just throw them all into a river is kind of awkward.
As for Techmeme I really don’t see the comparison from my perspective. Techmeme is an opinion gauge to me. I don’t really care to follow most of the Techmeme sites but when an event happens I’m interested in their take. So to me Techmeme is the polar opposite of friendfeed in that it acts as a gatekeeper for me.
LikeLike
Robert: nah, I’m supporting you, not getting you wrong. I don’t care if more people will use FriendFeed than Techmeme (it may very well happen). I care about Techmeme’s value as a tech news site, and I don’t think Twitter or FriendFeed change that for the worse. In fact, I think they improve the environment for Techmeme’s aggregation, because people in the know are now better connected, which ultimately makes Techmeme more interesting.
LikeLike
Robert: nah, I’m supporting you, not getting you wrong. I don’t care if more people will use FriendFeed than Techmeme (it may very well happen). I care about Techmeme’s value as a tech news site, and I don’t think Twitter or FriendFeed change that for the worse. In fact, I think they improve the environment for Techmeme’s aggregation, because people in the know are now better connected, which ultimately makes Techmeme more interesting.
LikeLike
popurls.com & techmeme are still the way to go
LikeLike
popurls.com & techmeme are still the way to go
LikeLike
great, we were hoping you wouldn’t find friendfeed for a long time Robert.
LikeLike
great, we were hoping you wouldn’t find friendfeed for a long time Robert.
LikeLike
I’m desperate to do something that frees me from Google Reader. FriendFeed might just be the thing to do it. Then again, probably not. Just having to pare down my list of those who get my attention even more.
LikeLike
I’m desperate to do something that frees me from Google Reader. FriendFeed might just be the thing to do it. Then again, probably not. Just having to pare down my list of those who get my attention even more.
LikeLike
I guess, it depends on algorithm. I didn’t use FriendFeed, I love to see some personalization and filtering based my history/preference. I think Google Reader records my reading habit, they also have post rank (search rank) etc. thats why I believe that Greader would dominate. I don’t think other-readers can give me such a personalization, content ranking and search.
“Google Reader is being killed by its addition of a social network”
I think, they should initiate OPML bundles from myspace, not from Gtalk.
LikeLike
I guess, it depends on algorithm. I didn’t use FriendFeed, I love to see some personalization and filtering based my history/preference. I think Google Reader records my reading habit, they also have post rank (search rank) etc. thats why I believe that Greader would dominate. I don’t think other-readers can give me such a personalization, content ranking and search.
“Google Reader is being killed by its addition of a social network”
I think, they should initiate OPML bundles from myspace, not from Gtalk.
LikeLike
@Tom OMG yes Friendfeed is Facebook without the stupid.
On second thought, why do I blame Google for force-feeding me a tube that i picked myself? Well, it should time out. It should disappear unreads. Then ghost them and if I press the “aren’t you guilty you didn’t read these” then it fetches them again.
How could you compare Tech Meme? On Friendfeed you can talk back. You can post back to your friends’ links. TechMeme doesn’t have a place to post to on it.
LikeLike
@Tom OMG yes Friendfeed is Facebook without the stupid.
On second thought, why do I blame Google for force-feeding me a tube that i picked myself? Well, it should time out. It should disappear unreads. Then ghost them and if I press the “aren’t you guilty you didn’t read these” then it fetches them again.
How could you compare Tech Meme? On Friendfeed you can talk back. You can post back to your friends’ links. TechMeme doesn’t have a place to post to on it.
LikeLike
I like friendfeed. However, at them moment,i cannot integrate it to my wordpress blog as yet. I’m just looking forward to that day when i can replace my LINKS with FRIENDFEED on my blog.
LikeLike
I like friendfeed. However, at them moment,i cannot integrate it to my wordpress blog as yet. I’m just looking forward to that day when i can replace my LINKS with FRIENDFEED on my blog.
LikeLike
Robert,
Do you really think that as FriendFeed becomes more popular that the bigger blogs and names won’t start taking of the front page?
Once they get uber-popular, these sites don’t stay ‘indie’ they go mainstream and inherit all the Scobleizers + that come with it. Wait for it…
K
LikeLike
Robert,
Do you really think that as FriendFeed becomes more popular that the bigger blogs and names won’t start taking of the front page?
Once they get uber-popular, these sites don’t stay ‘indie’ they go mainstream and inherit all the Scobleizers + that come with it. Wait for it…
K
LikeLike
Robert,
Sharing the same experience re Google Reader – too damn slow. My home is set via iGoogle which allows me to import almost everything. btw, experience has taught me that Dave Winer is the pack leader, the alpha dude we can all learn something from. Cheers
LikeLike
Robert,
Sharing the same experience re Google Reader – too damn slow. My home is set via iGoogle which allows me to import almost everything. btw, experience has taught me that Dave Winer is the pack leader, the alpha dude we can all learn something from. Cheers
LikeLike
Google reader was never working for me, I am more of a “get a quick glance of headlines from my preferred categories” kinda girl. After Pageflakes and Netvibes stints the iGoogle start page and following interesting Twitter sources (like scobelizer btw) was working well for me (on my iPhone as well) but just yesterday – with the new search feature of Friendfeed – I found out a very interesting way:
To stay on top of news, blogosphere buzz and social meme in one place I imported the wohle (mostly new media based) Twitter friends feed and certain searche-feed from Friendfeed into my iGoogle page.
Exampl: I have a search in FF that goes: “service:friendfeed who:everyone social-media”. I subscribe that search’s feed (yes it works) and import that in iGoogle. I could even comment on all messages I’m reading there – I see the headlines and full text/commenting features. For now, I am a happy “news and vibes sifter” again 😉
LikeLike
Google reader was never working for me, I am more of a “get a quick glance of headlines from my preferred categories” kinda girl. After Pageflakes and Netvibes stints the iGoogle start page and following interesting Twitter sources (like scobelizer btw) was working well for me (on my iPhone as well) but just yesterday – with the new search feature of Friendfeed – I found out a very interesting way:
To stay on top of news, blogosphere buzz and social meme in one place I imported the wohle (mostly new media based) Twitter friends feed and certain searche-feed from Friendfeed into my iGoogle page.
Exampl: I have a search in FF that goes: “service:friendfeed who:everyone social-media”. I subscribe that search’s feed (yes it works) and import that in iGoogle. I could even comment on all messages I’m reading there – I see the headlines and full text/commenting features. For now, I am a happy “news and vibes sifter” again 😉
LikeLike
In my opinion, FriendFeed’s most likely to have an impact on Twitter, not Reader or TechMeme. Some discussions that might have gone to Twitter are taking place on FriendFeed. (Don’t get me wrong, I DO NOT thinkg this is a Twitter killer. I just think it’s more in the social space than pure data aggregation and delivery.)
My favorite thing about FriendFeed is that it has the same discovery possibilities that Twitter facilitates. I keep finding really interesting conversations and individuals.
LikeLike
In my opinion, FriendFeed’s most likely to have an impact on Twitter, not Reader or TechMeme. Some discussions that might have gone to Twitter are taking place on FriendFeed. (Don’t get me wrong, I DO NOT thinkg this is a Twitter killer. I just think it’s more in the social space than pure data aggregation and delivery.)
My favorite thing about FriendFeed is that it has the same discovery possibilities that Twitter facilitates. I keep finding really interesting conversations and individuals.
LikeLike
@Prokofy That’s fantastic. “Facebook without the stupid.” I like that.
LikeLike
@Prokofy That’s fantastic. “Facebook without the stupid.” I like that.
LikeLike
Techmeme has been getting lots of negative publicity lately. This shows that people are having more expectations which are left unfilfilled because it hasn’t changed much since its inception. I’m one of those who needed some fresh air so instead of trying another memetracker or aggregator, I just built my own to see how memetrackers really work.
It’s so much fun coz I can tweak the algorithm as I want and read the interesting news. Not everyone can. 🙂 I just decided to make it public some few days ago. You can check it there : http://www.techsted.com
LikeLike
Techmeme has been getting lots of negative publicity lately. This shows that people are having more expectations which are left unfilfilled because it hasn’t changed much since its inception. I’m one of those who needed some fresh air so instead of trying another memetracker or aggregator, I just built my own to see how memetrackers really work.
It’s so much fun coz I can tweak the algorithm as I want and read the interesting news. Not everyone can. 🙂 I just decided to make it public some few days ago. You can check it there : http://www.techsted.com
LikeLike
Robert,
Do you reckon Google Reader would bug out for people who don’t have such a huge amount of info on their plate? I’ve been using NetVibes for a while now, and it’s doing the job .. but then, I hardly have fifty feeds I keep an eye on.
Is FriendFeed worth it for small-time feeders? I’ll check it out anyway, but, as always , interested in your opinion.
LikeLike
Robert,
Do you reckon Google Reader would bug out for people who don’t have such a huge amount of info on their plate? I’ve been using NetVibes for a while now, and it’s doing the job .. but then, I hardly have fifty feeds I keep an eye on.
Is FriendFeed worth it for small-time feeders? I’ll check it out anyway, but, as always , interested in your opinion.
LikeLike
Techmeme jumped the shark when it spent three days spotlighting lacy underalls and mark whatshisname…..sheez – if there are two bigger bores in the world I don’t think I need Techmeme to find them…
LikeLike
Techmeme jumped the shark when it spent three days spotlighting lacy underalls and mark whatshisname…..sheez – if there are two bigger bores in the world I don’t think I need Techmeme to find them…
LikeLike
The new new isn’t as good as the new new new, short attention span theater, as the new new scales and bogs down, but the new new new is still fresh and fast, where all the cool kids are going.
Which is why anything hyped by the “250”, has an expiration date shorter than milk.
Arts and Letters Daily and Refdesk remain my homepages, one for info-seeking, another for (gasp) reading.
LikeLike
The new new isn’t as good as the new new new, short attention span theater, as the new new scales and bogs down, but the new new new is still fresh and fast, where all the cool kids are going.
Which is why anything hyped by the “250”, has an expiration date shorter than milk.
Arts and Letters Daily and Refdesk remain my homepages, one for info-seeking, another for (gasp) reading.
LikeLike
AllTop is fine for scanning a variety of “top” sources, but TechMeme is still my number one source for social media news. I also like the at-a-glance view it gives me of what people are talking about most. The one improvement I’d like to see with TechMeme is that it branch out into more areas. I realize that the best markets are large ones and therefore probably not the ones I’d like to see most, but still I can’t help wishing for it. I finally decided to write my own little conversation tracker to follow blogs/news on topics that I’m most interested in, such as Tablet PCs/MIDs/etc, Apple news, and Microsoft developers. I’m now working on adding a tracker for R/C planes, drones, and the like. Yep, not exactly top tier topics.
LikeLike
AllTop is fine for scanning a variety of “top” sources, but TechMeme is still my number one source for social media news. I also like the at-a-glance view it gives me of what people are talking about most. The one improvement I’d like to see with TechMeme is that it branch out into more areas. I realize that the best markets are large ones and therefore probably not the ones I’d like to see most, but still I can’t help wishing for it. I finally decided to write my own little conversation tracker to follow blogs/news on topics that I’m most interested in, such as Tablet PCs/MIDs/etc, Apple news, and Microsoft developers. I’m now working on adding a tracker for R/C planes, drones, and the like. Yep, not exactly top tier topics.
LikeLike
On FriendFeed..
LikeLike
On FriendFeed..
LikeLike
I think TechMeme, Google Reader, and Friendfeed can co-exist. Sometimes I read Techmeme via Google Reader. What I like G.R. to do is add a commenting functionality that would integrate with the orinigating blog post.
Friendfeed cannot replace GR because it doesn’t allow you to read the entire content of a feed. It’s not built for “reading”. You cannot JJJ or KKK or O (GR shortcuts). Friendfeed is built for sharing and commenting.
Of the three, I spend the least time with TechMeme because I can scan it via GR.
LikeLike
I think TechMeme, Google Reader, and Friendfeed can co-exist. Sometimes I read Techmeme via Google Reader. What I like G.R. to do is add a commenting functionality that would integrate with the orinigating blog post.
Friendfeed cannot replace GR because it doesn’t allow you to read the entire content of a feed. It’s not built for “reading”. You cannot JJJ or KKK or O (GR shortcuts). Friendfeed is built for sharing and commenting.
Of the three, I spend the least time with TechMeme because I can scan it via GR.
LikeLike
Feed readers are problematic because sites like Engadget and TechCrunch post too often, so your content is flooded.
TechMeme is problematic because it requires a “conversation” and has no way of tracking “interestingness”. In fact, if anything it is less likely to find something “interesting” to read (not that it’s not useful, which it is).
FriendFeed is problematic because it means you are deciding only to consume news from a very limited set of sources. I believe it is a better way of tracking people you like/care about than Greader is, but not good enough.
seems like there’s still an opportunity…
LikeLike
Feed readers are problematic because sites like Engadget and TechCrunch post too often, so your content is flooded.
TechMeme is problematic because it requires a “conversation” and has no way of tracking “interestingness”. In fact, if anything it is less likely to find something “interesting” to read (not that it’s not useful, which it is).
FriendFeed is problematic because it means you are deciding only to consume news from a very limited set of sources. I believe it is a better way of tracking people you like/care about than Greader is, but not good enough.
seems like there’s still an opportunity…
LikeLike
@Robert: How about checking out Alertle (http://www.alertle.com) for your feed reading needs ? You might find that it moves very swiftly and you can go through several feeds and items very quickly and with minimal clicking, pressing. It is actually supposed to be ideal for high-volume feed reading. At the end of the day, you can simply save more time with Alertle and not feel overloaded with news..if that is ever a problem for you 🙂
@Jeremy: You haven’t seen Alertle as yet perhaps. I used to feel frustrated / overwhelmed with other readers, which is why I designed Alertle to be as clutter-free as possible.
Varun
LikeLike
@Robert: How about checking out Alertle (http://www.alertle.com) for your feed reading needs ? You might find that it moves very swiftly and you can go through several feeds and items very quickly and with minimal clicking, pressing. It is actually supposed to be ideal for high-volume feed reading. At the end of the day, you can simply save more time with Alertle and not feel overloaded with news..if that is ever a problem for you 🙂
@Jeremy: You haven’t seen Alertle as yet perhaps. I used to feel frustrated / overwhelmed with other readers, which is why I designed Alertle to be as clutter-free as possible.
Varun
LikeLike
Friendfeed co-founder Bret Taylor – API weeks, not months away; Duncan Riley criticism “completely valid”
(title is from my blog (above) but link below is to original interview source:
http://www.lastpodcast.net/2008/03/17/interview-with-bret-taylor-from-friendfeed/
LikeLike
Friendfeed co-founder Bret Taylor – API weeks, not months away; Duncan Riley criticism “completely valid”
(title is from my blog (above) but link below is to original interview source:
http://www.lastpodcast.net/2008/03/17/interview-with-bret-taylor-from-friendfeed/
LikeLike
Good alliance: Twitter+FriendFeed+TechMeme
LikeLike
Good alliance: Twitter+FriendFeed+TechMeme
LikeLike
I love TechMeme… FriendFeed is pretty cool I just started an account this week. I don’t use google reader that much, but it sure does drive a lot of traffic. Isn’t there room for all of them?
LikeLike
I love TechMeme… FriendFeed is pretty cool I just started an account this week. I don’t use google reader that much, but it sure does drive a lot of traffic. Isn’t there room for all of them?
LikeLike
So… if I use the one-year waiting rule for Robert Scoble, and he uses the one-year rule for Mr. Winer… will anything still exist by the time I get around to trying it? Life is really hard sometimes!
LikeLike
So… if I use the one-year waiting rule for Robert Scoble, and he uses the one-year rule for Mr. Winer… will anything still exist by the time I get around to trying it? Life is really hard sometimes!
LikeLike
I began using FriendFeed March 1st and never looked back… love it!
I too find that it’s refreshingly simple and uncluttered (let’s hope it stays that way!) … no adds ahh!
LikeLike
I began using FriendFeed March 1st and never looked back… love it!
I too find that it’s refreshingly simple and uncluttered (let’s hope it stays that way!) … no adds ahh!
LikeLike
You’re subscribed to 512 people, which probably includes a lot of top tech bloggers whose blogs you’re already subscribed to in Google Reader. In that case, yes FriendFeed is kind of like a replacement for Google Reader. But I think that kind of misses out on the whole “Friend” part of FriendFeed. I think of FriendFeed as news through a social filter. Not the “top” stuff from all bloggers/news sites (that’s what TechMeme is), but all the stuff that your friends liked. For me, FriendFeed is like Digg + Facebook. I wrote about it at http://www.jessyoko.com/blog/2008/02/04/why-i-like-friendfeed/
But in the end I guess FriendFeed is whatever you make of it. It’s good that it’s flexible enough to be Reader to some people but social Digg to others.
LikeLike
You’re subscribed to 512 people, which probably includes a lot of top tech bloggers whose blogs you’re already subscribed to in Google Reader. In that case, yes FriendFeed is kind of like a replacement for Google Reader. But I think that kind of misses out on the whole “Friend” part of FriendFeed. I think of FriendFeed as news through a social filter. Not the “top” stuff from all bloggers/news sites (that’s what TechMeme is), but all the stuff that your friends liked. For me, FriendFeed is like Digg + Facebook. I wrote about it at http://www.jessyoko.com/blog/2008/02/04/why-i-like-friendfeed/
But in the end I guess FriendFeed is whatever you make of it. It’s good that it’s flexible enough to be Reader to some people but social Digg to others.
LikeLike
Perhaps I’ve set up FriendFeed incorrectly, but I can’t see the utility of it within a feed reader — where I still live half the day — when every post headline reads: “Robert Scoble posted two messages on Jaiku” or “Dave Winer posted a message on Twitter” or “You bookmarked a page on del.icio.us.” I’d prefer to see the headline or truncated version of the message itself with a simple indication of what kind of message I might expect by clicking to see more. I’m using NetNewsWire to follow the feed. Personally, I’m looking for tools that remove distractions and add clarity and comprehension. FriendFeed might help, and I’m probably missing something, but I’m just not seeing a large leap in productivity here.
LikeLike
Perhaps I’ve set up FriendFeed incorrectly, but I can’t see the utility of it within a feed reader — where I still live half the day — when every post headline reads: “Robert Scoble posted two messages on Jaiku” or “Dave Winer posted a message on Twitter” or “You bookmarked a page on del.icio.us.” I’d prefer to see the headline or truncated version of the message itself with a simple indication of what kind of message I might expect by clicking to see more. I’m using NetNewsWire to follow the feed. Personally, I’m looking for tools that remove distractions and add clarity and comprehension. FriendFeed might help, and I’m probably missing something, but I’m just not seeing a large leap in productivity here.
LikeLike
I liek it because it pumps stuff to email where I can read it without going online (great for trains). Thank to email’s more sophisticated sorting etc it makes it a more effective way of keeping up with high volume people like Mr Scoble 😉
LikeLike
I liek it because it pumps stuff to email where I can read it without going online (great for trains). Thank to email’s more sophisticated sorting etc it makes it a more effective way of keeping up with high volume people like Mr Scoble 😉
LikeLike
I *want* to like FriendFeed, but I hyperventilate when I look at it. It just makes me feel like I’m drowning in information.
Too much stuff, most of which is unimportant (ie. I won’t die if I don’t catch every tweet from friends, I need to remind myself of that), and the thought of yet another place for discussion just irks me.
If FriendFeed was able to write back into the original social networks, I’d consider using it more, but at the moment, it’s read-only and commenting within FF doesn’t appeal to me.
Maybe one day, but for now, it’s just an “hmm well its nice!” network for me.
I’ll leave it up to people like you, Robert, to sell me on it.
Vero
Community Gal at Taptu.com
LikeLike
I *want* to like FriendFeed, but I hyperventilate when I look at it. It just makes me feel like I’m drowning in information.
Too much stuff, most of which is unimportant (ie. I won’t die if I don’t catch every tweet from friends, I need to remind myself of that), and the thought of yet another place for discussion just irks me.
If FriendFeed was able to write back into the original social networks, I’d consider using it more, but at the moment, it’s read-only and commenting within FF doesn’t appeal to me.
Maybe one day, but for now, it’s just an “hmm well its nice!” network for me.
I’ll leave it up to people like you, Robert, to sell me on it.
Vero
Community Gal at Taptu.com
LikeLike
FriendFeed looks cool, but as with most news readers nowadays, it does seem to suffer from information overflow and a chaotic interface!
I’ve now started using a brand new service called Planetaki for reading news. It provides a straight forward top-to-bottom list of news where the latest unread posts are clearly presented, no fuss, and no hassle. Its still being developed, so there is no OPML support yet, but I’d expect that amongst many other improvements to be on their way soon.
I currently use it as a complement to Google Reader for the times when I don’t have several hours for a full “click, wait, and read” session.
Cheers, sam
LikeLike
FriendFeed looks cool, but as with most news readers nowadays, it does seem to suffer from information overflow and a chaotic interface!
I’ve now started using a brand new service called Planetaki for reading news. It provides a straight forward top-to-bottom list of news where the latest unread posts are clearly presented, no fuss, and no hassle. Its still being developed, so there is no OPML support yet, but I’d expect that amongst many other improvements to be on their way soon.
I currently use it as a complement to Google Reader for the times when I don’t have several hours for a full “click, wait, and read” session.
Cheers, sam
LikeLike
Yes,
I see everything happening now as an incredible headlong…butt first? rush into the FUTURE..YIKES
LikeLike
Yes,
I see everything happening now as an incredible headlong…butt first? rush into the FUTURE..YIKES
LikeLike
FriednFeed has a nice yet simples interface, which appeals to me. Maybe it would change my reading habits, I catch myself following you more than before (with the feeds on Netvibes).
I like the way it puts the activites in chronological order, especially with people who use different tools as complement for each other (you twitter live from an event, than at the end of the day you post a summary of the event, uploads some pics of it at Picasa…).
However, it gets confusing when you’re following more than 5 people. I think they should rethink the layout to make it easier to follow.
LikeLike
FriednFeed has a nice yet simples interface, which appeals to me. Maybe it would change my reading habits, I catch myself following you more than before (with the feeds on Netvibes).
I like the way it puts the activites in chronological order, especially with people who use different tools as complement for each other (you twitter live from an event, than at the end of the day you post a summary of the event, uploads some pics of it at Picasa…).
However, it gets confusing when you’re following more than 5 people. I think they should rethink the layout to make it easier to follow.
LikeLike
Google Reader is really very slow… sometimes it takes more than 3-4 minutes to load the feed pages..this is irritating… techmeme feeds are something predefined where as feeds in Google reader is something defined by user, so it’s not reasonable to compare both.. they are doing their jobs… i use my own news aggregator for this as well as Google readers too … friendfeed is something which never got my attention…
LikeLike
Google Reader is really very slow… sometimes it takes more than 3-4 minutes to load the feed pages..this is irritating… techmeme feeds are something predefined where as feeds in Google reader is something defined by user, so it’s not reasonable to compare both.. they are doing their jobs… i use my own news aggregator for this as well as Google readers too … friendfeed is something which never got my attention…
LikeLike
I am using FriendFeed, but I’m running with SocialThing as my homepage – the big problem with FriendFeed is that nearly everybody I want to receive updates for is not on FriendFeed, and the process to set up imaginary friends for all of them is tedious in the extreme.
With SocialThing, I just pointed it at the services and I’m getting updates for all my friends on each service.
LikeLike
I am using FriendFeed, but I’m running with SocialThing as my homepage – the big problem with FriendFeed is that nearly everybody I want to receive updates for is not on FriendFeed, and the process to set up imaginary friends for all of them is tedious in the extreme.
With SocialThing, I just pointed it at the services and I’m getting updates for all my friends on each service.
LikeLike
Still happy with Google Reader. Maybe I’m not a power user?
LikeLike
Still happy with Google Reader. Maybe I’m not a power user?
LikeLike
Why does everything have to be an “X Killer”? Scoble I know that you are an early adopter but it seems like every couple of months we see that Y is the new X Killer? Everything is still very young…I bet in a few months Y will be the new FriendFeed killer in your eyes…
LikeLike
Why does everything have to be an “X Killer”? Scoble I know that you are an early adopter but it seems like every couple of months we see that Y is the new X Killer? Everything is still very young…I bet in a few months Y will be the new FriendFeed killer in your eyes…
LikeLike
Chris: because I know that most people won’t read posts with a non-sensational headline. Gotta get your attention on Google Reader or Friendfeed.
But it didn’t even take a few months. I saw a FriendFeed killer yesterday that’ll be out soon.
LikeLike
Chris: because I know that most people won’t read posts with a non-sensational headline. Gotta get your attention on Google Reader or Friendfeed.
But it didn’t even take a few months. I saw a FriendFeed killer yesterday that’ll be out soon.
LikeLike
a non-sensational headline
Well that’s also on account of the blogger set not reading posts, just skimming headlines, but, interestingly enough, some people do read non-sensational stuff, just has to be interesting and well-developed, and pitched to certain audiences, namely SME’s.
Granted, the usual masses will read Paris or Britney People Mag stories over the NYT, but really, is that what you aspire to be, just another shrill Weekly World News, out for cheap traffic gains? And here I thought you hated the British sensationalist press. 😉
Might want to start including the words “aliens”, “bigfoot”, “UFOs” and then “Mike Walker reports…” or anything “Patrick Swayze” and never-ending stories about Oprah’s (expanding or contracting) weight too…that’s worth traffic gold.
LikeLike
a non-sensational headline
Well that’s also on account of the blogger set not reading posts, just skimming headlines, but, interestingly enough, some people do read non-sensational stuff, just has to be interesting and well-developed, and pitched to certain audiences, namely SME’s.
Granted, the usual masses will read Paris or Britney People Mag stories over the NYT, but really, is that what you aspire to be, just another shrill Weekly World News, out for cheap traffic gains? And here I thought you hated the British sensationalist press. 😉
Might want to start including the words “aliens”, “bigfoot”, “UFOs” and then “Mike Walker reports…” or anything “Patrick Swayze” and never-ending stories about Oprah’s (expanding or contracting) weight too…that’s worth traffic gold.
LikeLike
Christopher: you got a point there, but if you want people to engage with you in today’s world you gotta be a little over-the-top. Whenever I do a boring headline, even a well-thought-out post, it gets a lot less attention than when I do a little selling in the headline. People are attracted to conflict. “Friendfeed is awesome” will attract 1/100th the audience that “FriendFeed is killing XXXX” will.
I don’t like it, but that’s the world we live in.
LikeLike
Christopher: you got a point there, but if you want people to engage with you in today’s world you gotta be a little over-the-top. Whenever I do a boring headline, even a well-thought-out post, it gets a lot less attention than when I do a little selling in the headline. People are attracted to conflict. “Friendfeed is awesome” will attract 1/100th the audience that “FriendFeed is killing XXXX” will.
I don’t like it, but that’s the world we live in.
LikeLike
Pete: how many friends do you have? I find that Google Reader’s speed is TOTALLY dependent on how many friends you have.
LikeLike
Pete: how many friends do you have? I find that Google Reader’s speed is TOTALLY dependent on how many friends you have.
LikeLike
Hi Robert, thank you for picking up the phone yesterday. Is there any chance we could get a copy of your Google Reader OPML to stress our system?
Thanks,
Edwin
LikeLike
Hi Robert, thank you for picking up the phone yesterday. Is there any chance we could get a copy of your Google Reader OPML to stress our system?
Thanks,
Edwin
LikeLike
My primary access is via a mobile phone web browser, and on that platform my two primary bookmarks are for my Google Reader feeds, and an ego search via TweetScan. (If mobile Twitter has a mobile version of the “Replies” tab, I’d use that instead of TweetScan.) I can *view* FriendFeed on my mobile web browser, but can’t really interact.
When I’m on a desktop or laptop, I’ll introduce FriendFeed into the mix, and then I can get more interactive.
Re Google Reader speed – I try not to let my unread items count go over 100, I currently subscribe to only three users’ shared items (yourself, Chris Brogan, and Dana Franks), and I delete items out of my own Shared Items after about a day or two. For my configuration, speed isn’t really a problem at this point.
It’s interesting to note that Google Reader and FriendFeed have two different philosophies, since FriendFeed is person-centric and Google Reader treats each feed separately. The disadvantage of FriendFeed is that it forces you to look at everything that I do, including the songs I like; what if you don’t care about the songs I like? Conversely, the disadvantage of Google Reader is that if you’re interested in the person, you may miss out on a lot of what the person is doing, or in the progression of a person’s thought (a Google Reader shared item becomes a tweet, which then becomes a blog post).
What would it take for me to switch my primary reading platform from Google Reader to FriendFeed, MyBlogLog, or something like that? (1) Good mobile interface. (2) Easy maintenance and configuration of feeds. (3) Speed.
LikeLike
My primary access is via a mobile phone web browser, and on that platform my two primary bookmarks are for my Google Reader feeds, and an ego search via TweetScan. (If mobile Twitter has a mobile version of the “Replies” tab, I’d use that instead of TweetScan.) I can *view* FriendFeed on my mobile web browser, but can’t really interact.
When I’m on a desktop or laptop, I’ll introduce FriendFeed into the mix, and then I can get more interactive.
Re Google Reader speed – I try not to let my unread items count go over 100, I currently subscribe to only three users’ shared items (yourself, Chris Brogan, and Dana Franks), and I delete items out of my own Shared Items after about a day or two. For my configuration, speed isn’t really a problem at this point.
It’s interesting to note that Google Reader and FriendFeed have two different philosophies, since FriendFeed is person-centric and Google Reader treats each feed separately. The disadvantage of FriendFeed is that it forces you to look at everything that I do, including the songs I like; what if you don’t care about the songs I like? Conversely, the disadvantage of Google Reader is that if you’re interested in the person, you may miss out on a lot of what the person is doing, or in the progression of a person’s thought (a Google Reader shared item becomes a tweet, which then becomes a blog post).
What would it take for me to switch my primary reading platform from Google Reader to FriendFeed, MyBlogLog, or something like that? (1) Good mobile interface. (2) Easy maintenance and configuration of feeds. (3) Speed.
LikeLike
I passed on FriendFeed. I am waiting for SocialThing to let me in. From what I can see, ST does all that FF except that commentary is posted at the source. So, if I respond to your tweet, it is via Twitter, not yet another network, ie FF. That seems the right course.
ST is in limited beta. I wait patiently for the invite.
LikeLike
I passed on FriendFeed. I am waiting for SocialThing to let me in. From what I can see, ST does all that FF except that commentary is posted at the source. So, if I respond to your tweet, it is via Twitter, not yet another network, ie FF. That seems the right course.
ST is in limited beta. I wait patiently for the invite.
LikeLike
Ive just started using it, and im loving it. I use google reader, but for a few months now all ive done is add suscuptions as ive been trawling around, and then seen the amount of stuff in it and run away. Building up the courage to start wading through it.
I find it great linking to posts i see in friend feeed, i now start my morning off with that : ) definately changed my habits.
But looking forward to SocialThing! to come out of private beta.
LikeLike
Ive just started using it, and im loving it. I use google reader, but for a few months now all ive done is add suscuptions as ive been trawling around, and then seen the amount of stuff in it and run away. Building up the courage to start wading through it.
I find it great linking to posts i see in friend feeed, i now start my morning off with that : ) definately changed my habits.
But looking forward to SocialThing! to come out of private beta.
LikeLike
I agree I am using friend feed more and more simply for the interaction that reader is not able to provide. Google reminds me of how Microsoft responded to Google when they introduced paid search ads. Microsoft was slow to respond. The same thing is happening to Google now. They are slow to respond to how social media is changing how we use the internet and interact with everyone. Google needs to integrate reader into gmail then redesign gmail so it incorporates friend feed attributes of commenting, than I think their onto something.
LikeLike
I agree I am using friend feed more and more simply for the interaction that reader is not able to provide. Google reminds me of how Microsoft responded to Google when they introduced paid search ads. Microsoft was slow to respond. The same thing is happening to Google now. They are slow to respond to how social media is changing how we use the internet and interact with everyone. Google needs to integrate reader into gmail then redesign gmail so it incorporates friend feed attributes of commenting, than I think their onto something.
LikeLike